German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries cautioned the United State to expect repercussions after abandoning the “common line” with Europe over Russia sanctions.
The German economy minister Brigitte Zypries warned the United States about possible repercussions after the US House of Representatives voted to impose new sweeping financial sanctions on Russia.
“It’s bad that the US has left the common line it had with Europe for sanctions against Russia.”
‘There is now the possibility of counter-sanctions against the US.”
Zypries made her comments to German TV channel ARD after the lower chamber of the US Congress approved measures against the Russian Federation in response to rumours claiming Russia had interfered in the 2016 Elections that saw businessman Donald Trump elected to the highest seat of the American executive.
The sanctions, approved on Tuesday, have yet to come into force but have prompted the prompt reaction of the Russian Government which ordered the number of US diplomats in Russia to be cut by nearly 300 people by September 1.
The German politician said that the decision taken by the US might affect German and other EU companies because of the “lack of coordination” between the EU and the United States.
Volker Treier, a Chief Economist from the business lobby DIHK, demanded direct intervention from the European Commission to avoid negative effects on important sectors such as energy.
“The European Commission now must make efforts to shed light on the current situation, as well as resist the extraterritorial effect of new US penalties.”
“If German firms are banned from participating in gas pipeline enterprises, very important projects in the energy supply security sector can be halted.”
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that the sanctions could have “unintended unilateral effects” on Europe and that the EU was ready to react “appropriately” should the sanction come into effect.
“If our concerns are not taken into account sufficiently, we stand ready to act appropriately within a matter of days. America First cannot mean that Europe’s interests come last.”