EU Parliamentary leaders meet in Budapest to discuss future challenges
Parliamentary speaker László Kövér welcomed counterparts from European Union member states who will review challenges facing the EU at a conference in Budapest on Monday. EU Parliamentary leaders meeting in Budapest:
EU Parliamentary leaders in Budapest
The conference is the closing parliamentary event linked to last year’s Hungarian EU presidency. Kövér said that under the arrangements of parliamentary cooperation during the Hungarian presidency, Hungary had hosted over 1,000 participants at six conferences.
He welcomed around 300 participants from fifty delegations at Monday’s conference, including speakers and deputy speakers from member countries, candidate countries, leaders of delegations with observer status, and the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). “We want peace, democracy and prosperity in Europe,” he told the conference.
He said the EU had had no political power, and perhaps will, to prevent the Russia-Ukraine war with diplomatic means, and it had no economic power, either, to bridle Russia by way of sanctions. Economic statistics show that the EU sanctions had caused more damage to EU member states than to Russia, he added. “Despite all the failures, the current EU political elite tries to embroil the EU in war, even in a military sense,” Kövér said.
He added that the current EU political elite was also planning to violate the rules of internal EU democracy, change the order of decision making which requires unanimity, and open the way for the dictatorship of a narrow group that cites political majority but does not have a real mandate. The EU is in a losing position in all dimensions of a global process of rearrangement, and democratic election results from the recent period demonstrate that an increasing part of Europeans are directly affected, he said.
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Economic statistics do not show that EU sanctions against Russia have caused more damage to EU member states than to Russia overall, though the impact has certainly been significant for both sides and varied by country and sector.
1. Impact on Russia (greater in macroeconomic terms):
GDP decline: Russia experienced a noticeable contraction in GDP in 2022 (approx. -2.1%) and stagnation in 2023. Many Western analysts had forecast a much steeper drop, but Russia adapted by reorienting trade (especially toward China, India, and others).
Energy revenues: Despite initial high income due to spiking oil and gas prices, Russia has faced long-term pressure from oil price caps and loss of the European gas market.
Currency and trade disruptions: The ruble became more volatile, Western companies exited en masse, and high-tech and capital goods imports from the EU were cut off.
Military spending: Russia has shifted a huge portion of its economy toward military production, which boosts GDP figures but masks underlying weakness and inflation pressures.
2. Impact on the EU (uneven, but generally less severe):
Energy crisis in 2022: EU countries suffered a sharp spike in energy prices after cutting off Russian gas and oil imports. Germany and Italy were particularly affected, being highly dependent on Russian gas.
Inflation and recession risks: Inflation rose sharply in 2022–2023, partly due to energy prices, contributing to slowing growth in several EU countries, but recession was largely avoided.
Diversification success: By late 2023, EU states had significantly diversified energy supplies (e.g., LNG from the U.S., renewables, and gas from Norway), and gas prices normalized.
Long-term transformation: The energy shock accelerated the EU’s green transition and reduced dependence on autocratic regimes for critical imports.
3. Key comparative points:
Metric Russia EU
GDP Growth (2022–2023) Negative or stagnant Slowed but positive in many cases
Energy Revenue Dropped due to price caps, loss of market Spike in prices, then stabilized
Inflation Elevated and persistent Peaked in 2022, declined in 2023
Trade Diversification Toward Asia (less profitable) Away from Russia, diversified sources
Business environment Western exit, isolation Resilient, adapted
Summary:
Sanctions and countersanctions have hurt both Russia and the EU, but Russia has taken a heavier long-term economic hit in terms of structural damage, isolation, and stagnation. However, certain EU sectors and countries (e.g., energy-intensive industries in Germany or Austria) have also suffered notably in the short term.
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