EU Commissioner warns against Russia sanctions fatigue Brussels must keep pressure on Moscow

The European Union must overcome “sanctions fatigue” and maintain economic pressure on Moscow, EU Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis said in an interview with Euractiv.

“National capitals must ‘stay focused [and] not get weaker or disbanded right now, because that’s exactly what Russia is waiting for,’” Dombrovskis said.

“It’s understandable there is a certain fatigue [after] almost five years of war,” the Latvian commissioner said. “But we have committed since the very beginning that we’ll continue to support Ukraine for as long as it’s needed, to continue to put pressure on Russia for as long as it’s needed, and it’s important to stay the course.”

His remarks came after the EU removed Russian-Uzbek businessman Alisher Usmanov and Russian-Israeli billionaire Mikhail Fridman from its sanctions list. Both had been sanctioned since 2022 over their alleged links to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort.

Latvia initially blocked the proposed delistings but lifted its veto following pressure from France. EU sanctions decisions require the unanimous support of all 27 member states.

Asked whether the EU could change its sanctions decision-making rules to eliminate the unanimity requirement, Dombrovskis said such a change was not “imminently available,” as it would require an amendment to the EU treaties, which would itself require unanimous approval from all 27 member states.

“There have been all kinds of peace initiatives,” Dombrovskis said, referring to efforts to end the war. “We have seen that Russia is not interested in any of those initiatives. It is only interested in continuing its aggression.”

“In a situation like this… the only way is to put more pressure on Russia,” he added. “It’s clear that Putin and Russia will not stop themselves. They need to be stopped.”

By Vafa Guliyeva