In this crisis, the EU leadership wants to be prepared for everything – and the European community of states wants to act as a united front when it comes to deciding on immediate economic sanctions against Russia in the event of a possible war in Ukraine: that individual governments openly criticize the decision to take these countermeasures or even torpedoing should be avoided in this severe international crisis. Quite a few nations are economically very closely linked to Russia: Germany, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary – and also Austria, especially in the banking sector. If sanctions are imposed on Russia in the event of an invasion of Ukraine, these states would also be massively affected, and billions in losses would be unavoidable.
With a secret plan that has not yet been officially published, Brussels now wants to get these nations to jointly support the punitive measures against Moscow: Billions are to flow so that these affected states hardly suffer any economic disadvantages as a result of an escalation of the Ukraine crisis.
“This is to guarantee that Hungary, for example, also positions itself clearly in favor of the sanctions. Austria’s situation is also being considered: after all, Austrian banks are extremely active in Russia, and if war broke out, Russia would be an extremely important trading partner,” the eXXpress heard from an EU insider.
In any case, the plans of the EU leadership show how seriously the danger of a full-scale military conflict in Ukraine is being taken: A sudden order from Vladimir Putin for the complete withdrawal of the 149,000 Russian soldiers massed in the border regions with Ukraine, without a demand being met received has long been considered unlikely.
