Sanctions Barely Achieve Results And Only Harm Regular People, PL Deputy Leader Warns
Labour deputy leader Daniel Micallef has cast serious doubt over the efficacy of the EU’s sanction regime against Russia and has criticised the hawkish stance that has dominated political narratives on the continent in recent months.
“Sanctions have never achieved many results, not even against relatively ‘small’ regimes let alone against countries larger than Europe,” Micallef wrote on social media.
“Only the common people suffer, particularly workers and families from the sanctioned nation, and in this case from the countries that imposed the sanctions.”
Micallef observed that there has barely been any talk in Europe in favour of pursuing peace between Russia and Ukraine since the war broke out earlier this year.
“Instead there was almost a race to see who can appear to be the biggest bully in the room- through empty words,” he said. “Many speeches were made by exponents that are totally detached from people’s realities… and then there’s a lot of shock with Brexit and other developments.”
“Morality, often false morality, is often sidelined out of convenience. What someone else is being accused of becomes acceptable, those who were being accused yesterday are friends today as needs suffice.”
“When following the UK Parliament, I ask myself what part of it (besides our colonial past) should continue inspiring us to keep using it as a model upon which to base our own procedures on.”
Turning to Malta’s handling of the crisis, the PL deputy leader hailed the government for subsidising energy, grain and wheat prices to cushion the inflationary impact.
“I recently visited Sicily and noticed that fuel which costs €80 in Malta costs €150 there… just an hour away by catamaran, which personally means I saved some €200 a month.
“Obviously not everything is rosy obviously and everyone can notice and feel the impact of price increases, and in certain cases there are abuses too. The fact we have the lowest inflation rate in Europe isn’t a coincidence but neither is it a consolation we can use as a crutch. It’s the merit of political decisions taken by the PL government.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin (Photo: Kremlin)
With the Russia-Ukraine war now in its fifth month, global debate has intensified over the efficacy of the sanctions imposed by the EU and other Western nations and the inflationary impact they’re having on Western markets.
Malta’s Finance Minister Clyde Caruana recently said that sanctions are ultimately harming European workers more than Russia and warned this could be the prelude to huge political shifts on the continent.
Prime Minister Robert Abela has taken a more cautious stance, stating that while Malta supports the sanction regime, including a planned embargo of Russian gas, its efficacy must be regularly monitored.
“I was clear [during a recent EU Council meeting] that we must ensure the sustainability of these sanctions,” he said. “We must take stock of the current sanctions and assess their efficacy before implementing new ones.”
“Sanctions can be an important tool but we cannot close a blind eye to the negative impact it has on our citizens. I am in favour of sending a clear message to the aggressors of this conflict, but this shouldn’t mean that our citizens end up paying the highest price of the sanctions themselves.”
Cover photo: Daniel Micallef (Photo: Facebook)
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