Dombrovskis: “EU sanctions against Russia are working, driving declines in several industries”

Brussels – EU sanctions on Russia “are working,” Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis acknowledges and strongly reaffirms this again at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “We see a decline in several industrial sectors, and the interest rate is 21 percent.” All signs of a struggling economy, he points out.

“Russia has stopped publishing statistics,” so it is more complicated to analyze the situation, Dombrovskis continues, convinced that this choice not to provide figures serves to hide Russian difficulties and not admit that EU sanctions are producing results.

In any case, “we could have done more” as the European Union, he admits. “You can’t always get the unanimity” required to approve sanctions.