MERKEL’S ‘ANTI-RUSSIAN FRONT’ FALLS APART – GERMAN NEWSPAPER
(c) AP Photo/ Markus Schreiber
Europe
13:43 02.04.2015(updated 14:17 02.04.2015) Get short URL
1237150
More and more European countries oppose an extension of anti-Russian
sanctions and disagree with the German policy towards Russia.
Attempts to save “European unity” are doomed, the German online
newspaper “Die Freie Welt” reported.
During her recent visit to Helsinki, German Chancellor Angela Merkel
tried to convince Finns to further follow the anti-Russian course and
stressed the importance of pursuing a common EU policy towards Russia.
However, this policy is in fact far from being united, the German
online edition wrote.
(c) AP Photo/ Michael Sohn Merkel Fears Split in EU Regarding
Anti-Russian Sanctions – German Media The Chancellor visited Finland
shortly before the upcoming elections in the country. During her
speech at Helsinki University, she expressed concerns about a split
in the European Union and called all EU countries to follow a common
approach regarding economic sanctions.
The power of the EU is in its unity, Finnish Prime Minister Alexander
Strubb agreed with the German Chancellor. However, it was not easy
for him to make this statement.
During the election campaign, Strubb’s opponents have successfully
exploited the negative impact of sanctions and called for a dialogue
with Russia. They draw attention to the fact that Finland has the
longest border with Russia among EU states and that both countries
always had close economic ties.
Finns are not the only ones who criticize Merkel’s tough stance towards
Russia. Greece, Hungary, Spain, Italy, Slovakia, Cyprus and Austria
are also expressing discontent about the anti-Russian sanctions under
which they suffer more than other EU countries.
Read more: