MEP Gyöngyösi: Any sanction that can be bypassed is no sanction

Although Europe’s sanctions on Moscow are now significantly disrupting everyday life in Russia as well, we must keep in mind that the primary aim is to reduce Russia’s military capabilities and not to make it impossible for Russian citizens to live their lives.

That’s why I was so perplexed to hear about the initiatives to make it harder for Russian nationals to travel into Europe, for example.

In the meantime, we can all see how China, Iran or India continue to participate in not only economic but military-related cooperation projects with Russia. Of course, the technology obtained from these partners is not comparable to Western assets in terms of quality and development level, but when the Russian army is using Iranian drones to attack Ukrainian cities, we simply cannot ignore this phenomenon.

I believe it’s time for Europe to put pressure not only on Russia, but on everybody else who cooperates with Putin’s state.

Any sanction that can be bypassed is no real sanction. Speaking at the European Parliament’s plenary session, I proposed to extend the restrictions to every person or company that provides Russia with such services that Europe doesn’t allow any of its own economic and military entities to supply to Russia. 

This is the only way to achieve our real goal: ending the war. In order for that to happen, we need to break Russia’s military capabilities.

Disclaimer: the sole liability for the opinions stated rests with the author(s). These opinions do not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Parliament.

Read alsoMEP Gyöngyösi: Time to reconsider where EU institutions should reside