France and Germany are willing to sabotage their own economies (by sanctioning Russia) to uphold the ‘rules-based international order’. Yet they are not willing to say they will implement a simple ICC ruling. Why?
According to a Finnish thinktank, the price cap of $60 per barrel that Western countries imposed on Russian oil has "failed to live up to its potential". Earlier this year, Russian oil was trading at $80 per barrel.
Last year, the Foreign Office sanctioned pro-Putin blogger Graham Phillips, the first time it has sanctioned a UK citizen. Peter Hitchens says if we don't object, other critics of the Govt's foreign policy could be next.
A survey has found that in 30 out of 30 European countries, a majority of people believe that the sanctions against Russia have hurt Europe and helped both the US and China.
The Economist has estimated that, over the winter, high energy prices led to 68,000 excess deaths in Europe. The rise in energy prices was partly due to Europe's self-imposed sanctions on Russian energy.
The West used to see its economic influence in countries like Russia as a show of Western power. This was always the correct view. Now our leaders see the exclusion of Western products from foreign markets as a victory.
Back in March, 73% of Brits said they support sanctions against Russia even if they lead to higher energy prices. In a recent poll, only 41% said the same. Support may erode further as energy bills continue to rise.
According to the Financial Times, weather forecasters are predicting that Europe will get a cold winter with relatively low wind and rainfall. This does not bode well for the continent's energy crisis.
The economic turmoil of recent days was triggered by a budget announcement. But the root cause is high energy prices and now that the Nordstream pipelines have been sabotaged, there's no way out.
Sanctions are crushing Europe's economy. Either mainstream parties will roll them back, or they’ll get voted out and populist parties will tear them up. Whatever happens, sanctions could break the Western alliance.
