Baerbock denuncia un danno alla reputazione della Cancelleria
The latest sanctions of the European Union (UE) against Russia are facing uncertainty due to objections from within the German government. This has left government officials disappointed. Annalena Baerbock, Germany's Minister of Foreign Affairs, criticized the Chancellor's office for weakening the image of Germany's Russia policy.
In Germany, there is disagreement regarding the country's stance on the new EU-planned sanctions against Russia. German officials now view the Chancellery's objections to the sanctions package as problematic and harmful. Sources from the German Press Agency report that the German Foreign Office considers the Chancellery's objections detrimental to the country's image. The Foreign Office made it clear before recent talks in Brussels that Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has been working diligently for the past two years to rebuild trust among European partners, which could be compromised by the Social Democratic (PD)-led Chancellery.
Earlier reports indicated that the permanent representative of Germany at the EU was not granted authorization by Berlin to approve the next round of EU sanctions against Russia. Diplomats in Brussels claim that German requests for modifications were primarily responsible for the delay in finalizing negotiations. A EU official told the dpa that it felt as though Germany was now the "new Ungheria," noting how the Hungarian government, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, had frequently obstructed previous Russia sanctions decisions.
Focus on preventing sanctions evasion
The original intention was to reach an agreement on the new sanctions package before the G7 summit, which includes the world's leading democratic industrial nations. Chancellor Olaf Scholz also participated in this meeting. At the earliest, a political deal can now be reached in Brussels on Friday.
The new sanctions are primarily aimed at combating sanctions evasion, which enables 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 dealing with liquefied natural gas (GNL) for the first time. The German government's objections focus primarily on measures intended to make it more difficult for companies to comply with EU sanctions regulations themselves. According to 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 easily dismissed. However, it should 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 declined to comment on the negotiations when approached by the dpa on Thursday. The representative maintained that the consultations among the member states were confidential.
