EU Warns Of Economic Uncertainty. After Russia’s Ukraine Moves

The EU’s economy commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said on Tuesday that Russia’s recognition of Ukraine’s breakaway regions will “significantly increase” economic uncertainty.

“Uncertainty still hangs over us. And Russian recognition of two separatist territories in Ukraine, which is a violation of international law, will exacerbate this uncertainty,” Gentiloni said at a Brussels conference.

Read also: Senate confirms 5 EDs for Nigerian Petroleum Regulatory Authority

Gentiloni spoke as EU ambassadors met to agree on sanctions against Russia for recognizing two separatist regions in Ukraine the day before, which Moscow has militarily supported for the past eight years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered troops into those separatist regions, breaking international agreements he had signed on to. He portrayed the incursion as a “peacekeeping” mission.

The European Union was expected to unveil limited and targeted economic punishment, both to keep its sanctions powder dry should Russia push further into Ukraine and because of the pain it would feel too from sectoral sanctions
Russia supplies more than a third of the EU’s natural gas supplies, and energy prices are already spiking to uncomfortable levels for European consumers and governments.

Gentiloni, speaking at an EU conference on the bloc’s economic situation, noted that the growth forecasts for this year had already been revised down earlier this month to 4.0 percent, and up to 2.8 percent for next year.

Read also: IMF Issued Warning To FG Over Proposed N2.55trn Fuel Subsidy Spending

Conflict or tough sanctions on Russia that blowback into Europe could add to the downward pressure on the Covid-hit economy.