European Union countries including Germany, France and Italy are in talks to find ways to protect their economies. In particular, if the bloc imposes sanctions against Russia in connection with the aggression against Ukraine.
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Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s government is in talks with EU partners on how to soften the impact of the punitive measures on key sectors of the Italian economy, including discussions on potential energy exemptions from some of the financial measures under discussion, according to people familiar with the talks.
Germany and Italy have also tried to protect their banking sectors, with Rome suggesting instead to target individuals rather than a broad swath of the Russian economy.
Germany, France, the Netherlands and Poland are among the EU countries that have expressed concern about the impact of sanctions on certain sectors, including energy, raw materials and banks. Russia is Europe’s main source of natural gas, with about a third of its exports going through Ukrainian pipelines.
According to one of the interlocutors, in January Italy sent a non-paper to the European Commission, which is preparing potential sanctions for the bloc, which outlined Rome’s concerns about how these measures could affect its own economy.
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