DISINFO: EU experts warn the European Commission: sanctions on Russia are self-harming
SUMMARY
The SVR informed that experts from EU countries keep warning the European Commission about the risks of tightening sanctions on Russia and denouncing the serious mistake made by the bureaucrats of the block. According to the information received by the SVR, the European experts try persistently to convince the European Commission that hardening the restrictive measures against the Russian economy is self-harming for the European Union.
RESPONSE
The claim is unsubstantiated. Allegations made by Russia’s intelligence services cannot be considered as evidence, given their proven history of making unsubstantiated claims based on faked or nonexistent proofs, for example about US biolaboratories in Ukraine or the presence of French combat troops on the Ukrainian frontlines.
While it is certainly possible to find European experts arguing against the wisdom of continued sanctions on Russia, there are many others who hold the opposite view. However, this disinformation story ignores this complexity in order to suggest that there is some kind of consensus among economy experts against sanctions but the European Commission maintains it out of zealousness or fanaticism. A secondary goal is to advance another recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative portraying the European Commission, a frequent target of pro-Kremlin disinformation, as blinded by Russophobia and acting against the interests of European citizens.
This is part of what some experts have labelled Russia’s economic war propaganda, aimed at convincing the world about the futility of the sanctions against Russia and the need to remove them as they only harm the countries imposing them.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that sanctions made the Russian economy stronger, that Russia proved the great strength of its economy, that Russia became the World's 4th economic power thanks to the war in Ukraine, or that the Russian economy thrives despite EU sanctions.