The European Union (EU) is slowly starting to lose grip now that Russia seems to have the upper hand as winter approaches and a major energy crisis looms.
EU and its western allies have placed various sanctions on Moscow as a response to the latter's invasion of Ukraine. As a countermeasure, Moscow decided to withhold and cut off fuel supplies to EU, which is largely dependent on Russia's natural gas.
In this connection, Hungary's State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Trade Tamas Menczer revealed that the bloc may review sanctions on Russia and could lift some of them as soon as the autumn. "Reality knocks on the door of every country," Menczer said
During a recent appearance on M1 TV, Menczer said the restrictions imposed on Russian trade to punish it for attacking Ukraine have failed to change Moscow's behavior. In fact, the country was rewarded with increased revenues after it triggered a spike in energy prices. Moscow is still reaping billions of dollars by channeling oil exports to Asian markets.
Meanwhile, the European countries that imposed the sanctions are facing energy shortages.
The news outlet RT reported that the Hungarian MP confirmed that his country, which criticized the EU's drive to decouple the economy of the bloc from Russian energy, opposed the idea of introducing a price cap on gas bought from foreign nations.
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak declared that they will ban exports of oil and other petroleum products to countries that would impose a cap on the price of Russian crude.
Moreover, Hungarian Parliament Speaker Laszlo Kover pointed out that the EU is the real "loser" in the Ukraine conflict due to the economic damage caused by the sanctions and Russia's response to them.
Italian political party official urges EU to end sanctions on Russia
Some members of the bloc are starting to see how the Russia-Ukraine war is actually sending Europe nosediving into economic collapse. (Related: Italian conservatives demand immediate end to economic sanctions against Russia.)
Matteo Salvini, federal secretary of Italy's far-right wing party Lega Nord (Northern League), already broke ranks with other European leaders who have lately seemed to echo some form of "Ukraine first" policy.
Salvini urged the EU to end Russia's energy sanctions as these are only leaving Europeans "on their knees" amid soaring energy bills and the shortage of supply. He added that cutting off Russian energy is only hurting Italy and its people, who are having to pay double, triple or even quadruple the price for what little energy remains.
"And after seven months, the war continues and Russian Federation coffers are filling with money," Salvini told RTL radio.
In a caucus for the September 25 general election in the northern town of Bolzano, Salvini said: "In place of sanctions, which were supposed to hurt the Russians, it would be better to protect the Italians and Europeans with a shield, a parachute."
He pointed out that the only emergency at this moment is electricity and gas bills. "It is serious that one side of politics does not understand this. It is a continental and national problem," he added.
Meanwhile, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio of the Together for the Future party denounced Salvini's comments and accused him of ultimately wanting to do Russian President Vladimir Putin a favor. Di Maio said: "The issue of sanctions is very clear in the Italian right: They don't have a line."
Visit Collapse.news for more news on EU's worsening energy crisis.
Watch this video about Hungary no longer obeying the EU's Russian sanctions.
This video is from Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.
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