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Majority of Germans and Hungarians Question the Effectiveness of EU Sanctions

Mariann Őry 2022.10.13.

According to a recent poll, the majority of Germans agree with Viktor Orbán’s assessment that the EU sanctions do more harm to Germany than to Russia. However, most are still in favor of them.

“We have been opposed to EU energy sanctions from the very beginning, because they do more damage to Europe than to Russia, and the rest of Europe seems to be waking up to this,” Zoltán Kovács, Secretary of State for International Communication and Relations wrote on Facebook.

He referred to a recent German poll by RTL and NTV, which shows that 57 percent of Germans think that the EU sanctions against Russia do more harm to Germany than to Russia. Only 21 percent believe that the sanctions are hurting Russia more than Germany. 18 percent believe that the sanctions are harming Germany and Russia equally. Only among supporters of the Greens is the share of those who believe the sanctions are hurting Russia more slightly higher than the share who think the sanctions are hurting Germany more.

At the same time, only a minority of 30 percent overall are in favor of easing (18 percent) or completely lifting (12 percent) the sanctions imposed on Russia. A majority of 63 percent of Germans believe that the sanctions against Russia should remain unchanged (33 percent) or be tightened (30 percent).

East Germans (48 percent) and supporters of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) (82 percent) are more frequently than average in favor of easing or lifting all sanctions.

Viktor Orbán Questions EU Sanctions in Berlin
Viktor Orbán Questions EU Sanctions in Berlin

"We do not want to change masters, we want independence" - the Prime Minister thinks the European interest is not to replace Russian energy dependence with US energy dependence.Continue reading

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán did not mince his words when he spoke about the EU’s sanctions policy at a panel discussion in Berlin on Tuesday. He said that the sanctions policy is “primitive in its implementation and disastrous in its impact,” it neglects European interests and destroys the German and Hungarian economies, while helping Moscow to earn in just half a year as much money with the sale of energy carriers as earlier during an entire year.

According to a poll conducted by the Századvég Foundation last month, 83 percent of Hungarians believe that the already existing and planned sanctions could lead to a severe economic downturn in Europe by 2023. More than two-thirds (68 percent) of Hungarians have an unfavorable opinion of the EU’s sanctions policy against Russia, while only 25 percent of Hungarians have a favorable opinion.

The Hungarian government recently announced that it will conduct a national consultation about the EU sanctions.

Featured photo via Pixabay


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