The European Union is weakening itself with its own sanctions; the question is whether it can survive the punitive measures introduced against Russia, Hungarian Minister of Finance Mihály Varga said on Thursday at a conference in Tusnádfürdő, Romania.
“Europe needs Russian energy for the time being, and the transition will take a long time and would require resources,” he told attendees.
The imposed sanctions do not work, Varga claimed. He said that there is no international cooperation in this matter, and the change in the exchange rate of the euro and the dollar is a big problem for the Union. In this respect, Europe is “deeply among the losers” of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, and the sanctions policy is currently causing more trouble for Europe than the country against which it was introduced.
The Hungarian finance minister confirmed that the government was insisting on peace and security, and was striving to use available resources to preserve the socio-economic results achieved so far.
He explained that the increase in inflation, the rise in energy and food prices, the increase in interest rates, and the resulting increase in the cost of loans clearly show that the world, including Hungary, is headed for an economic slowdown.
“Whether it will really be a recession or a very strong slowdown cannot be known now, but today there is no analysis that would count on a radical improvement of the situation,” he said.
In this environment, it is necessary to stick to basic values and security, said Varga. He noted that the budget for next year, which was adopted a few days ago, serves this purpose, as the national defense and utility defense funds serve the security and stability of the country.
