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Austria bankers still blocking EU sanctions on Russia(euobserver.com)

7 points6 points9 points submitted by chakokat
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ageingrockstar 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun 1 year ago

Good that Austria is holding out against EU sanctions, even if for selfish, profit driven reasons.

However, Austria is also one of only two European nations (the other being Czechia) that recently voted with the USA and Israel against the General Assembly vote in the UN calling for a Gaza cease-fire.

penelopepnortneyBecome ungovernable 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun 1 year ago

When asked by press about Russia sanctions in Brussels on Friday (15 December), Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer said he "welcomed" the EU summit communiqué.

The EU "welcomes the adoption of the 12th package of sanctions" on Russia, the communiqué also said.

But the warm words gave a false impression, because Nehammer also imposed a last-minute veto on the sanctions on Friday morning, which have not been legally adopted yet.

...the Austrian government is holding talks with Kyiv this weekend in a final effort to strong-arm Ukraine into delisting Austrian lender Raiffeisen Bank from its Sponsors of War register.

Raiffeisen Bank has 9,000 employees in Russia, where it does consumer banking, and where it made €2bn profit last year.

...Nehammer's "blackmail" recalls the playbook of Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, who also held up the EU's 11th round of Russia sanctions from June to October, until Ukraine delisted Hungarian bank OTP, despite its roaring trade in Russia.