Translated material
The head of the Spanish Foreign Ministry estimated the damage from sanctions at 21 billion euros
The sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation, as well as the retaliatory measures taken by Russia, caused damage to the EU economy in the amount of 21 billion euros.
Such data was announced by Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo. According to the minister, agriculture and the tourism industry have been hit particularly hard by the sanctions in Spain.
The data provided by Garcia-Margallo was the first assessment of the damage from Western sanctions against the Russian Federation and the measures taken by Russia in response to these actions.
“Sanctions are costing us dearly, the EU has already lost 21 billion euros,” said Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Garcia-Margallo (English).
- Since the spring of 2014, the European Union, the United States and the countries that have joined them have introduced several packages of sanctions against Russia for its role in the Ukrainian crisis.
- In response, in August 2014, the Russian authorities banned the import of many categories of products from countries that have imposed sanctions against Russia. The food embargo affected mainly deliveries from the EU countries, imports from which occupied a significant share of the Russian market.
- In addition, in the spring of 2014, employees of the Russian law enforcement agencies were given an unofficial recommendation to refrain from traveling to countries that have adopted sanctions, as well as having extradition agreements with the US and the EU. Officially, the existence of such a recommendation was not confirmed, however, tour operators called the refusal of law enforcement officers from foreign holidays one of the reasons for the decline in the tourism market.