Baerbock alleges harm to the Chancellery's reputation
The European Union's (EU) latest sanctions against Russia face an uncertain fate due to objections from within the German government. This has left government officials dismayed. Annalena Baerbock, Germany's Foreign Minister, criticized the Chancellor's office for undermining the image of Germany's Russia policy.
Within Germany, there is disagreement about the nation's stance on the new EU-planned sanctions against Russia. German officials now consider the Chancellery's objections to the sanctions package to be troublesome and harmful. Sources from the German Press Agency report that the German Foreign Office views the Chancellery's objections as detrimental to the country's image. The Foreign Office has made it clear before recent talks in Brussels that Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has been working tirelessly over the past two years to rebuild trust among European partners, which could be jeopardized by the Social Democratic (SPD)-led Chancellery.
Earlier reports revealed that the permanent representative of Germany at the EU had not been granted permission by Berlin to approve the next round of EU sanctions against Russia. Diplomats in Brussels claim that German requests for changes were primarily responsible for the delay in concluding negotiations. A EU official told the dpa that it felt as though Germany was now the "new Hungary," noting how the Budapest government, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, had frequently impeded previous Russia sanctions decisions.
Focus on preventing sanctions evasion
The original plan was to reach an agreement on the new sanctions package before the Group of 7 (G7) summit, which includes the world's leading democratic industrial nations. Chancellor Olaf Scholz also took part in this meeting. At the earliest, a political deal can now be reached in Brussels on Friday.
The new sanctions are mainly intended to combat sanctions evasion, which allows Russia's military-industrial complex to utilize Western technology to manufacture weapons for the war in Ukraine. Furthermore, the EU is planning to impose harsh sanctions on Russia's billion-dollar businesses that deal with liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the first time. The German government's objections focus primarily on measures intended to make it more challenging for companies to adhere to EU sanctions regulations themselves. As per EU diplomats, the German government seeks to exempt companies from ensuring that their business partners comply with EU sanctions.
Unyielding opposition
The German Foreign Office acknowledged that the objections could not be dismissed easily. However, it must be noted that the majority of other EU countries do not see any significant issues with the sanctions.
A representative of Germany's permanent representation to the EU refused to comment on the negotiations when approached by the dpa on Thursday. The representative maintained that the consultations among the member states were confidential.
Read also:
- Despite Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz's participation in the G7 summit, the nation's objections to the EU's proposed sanctions against Russia have caused a delay in reaching an agreement on the sanctions package.
- Annalena Baerbock, Germany's Foreign Minister, has expressed concerns over the Chancellery's objections to the EU sanctions, stating that they could jeopardize her efforts to rebuild trust among European partners.
- The unyielding opposition from the German government to certain measures in the EU sanctions package has led to comparisons with Hungary's past impediments to Russia sanctions decisions, according to a EU official.
