Neues vom Wirtschaftskrieg (234): Lagarde warnt EU vor Rechtsbruch

Wegen Diamanten-Embargo: Rücktritt in Antwerpen. Russland wächst schneller als alle anderen Industrienationen. Und EZB-Chefin Lagarde warnt EU vor Rechtsbruch bei Zugriff auf russisches Vermögen.

  • Lagarde warnt EU vor Rechtsbruch bei Zugriff auf russisches Vermögen. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde dug in her heels on the issue of Russia’s frozen assets, despite growing pressure on Europe to raise funds for Ukraine. Speaking at the Council for Foreign Relations on Wednesday, Lagarde stressed that seizing some $260 billion in Russian assets currently frozen in Europe would undermine the international rule of law, with unforeseeable consequences. “Moving from freezing the assets to confiscating the assets, disposing of them, is something that needs to be looked at very carefully,” Lagarde said, because it would “start breaking the international legal order that you want to protect, that you would want Russia and all countries around the world to respect.” Her comments are the latest illustration of the deep disagreement throughout the West over whether and how to use the Russian money that is currently frozen in European accounts. (Politico) Kanzler Scholz bekräftigte, dass die Erträge der russischen Assets entgegen aller Bedenken genutzt werden sollen. Siehe dazu meine Analyse im Makroskop “Für die Ukraine voll ins Risiko”
  • Russland wächst schneller als alle anderen Industrienationen. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted the Russian economy will this year grow faster than those of the Western countries trying to isolate it. In its latest forecast, published on April 16, the IMF saw Russia’s economy growing by 3.2 per cent this year, outpacing Western nations including the US, which will manage 2.7 per cent. Japan’s economy is set to expand by just 0.9 per cent and the overall Eurozone’s by 0.8 per cent. Within the European Union, Spain will grow 1.9 per cent but France and Italy will only manage 0.7 per cent, with Germany, the traditional engine of Europe, chalking up a weak 0.2 per cent – although that would be an improvement on the German economy’s 0.3 per cent contraction over 2023. The IMF’s prediction is somewhat embarrassing for Western countries that have sought to isolate and weaken the Russian economy over its invasion of Ukraine. (Brussels Signal)
  • Wegen Diamanten-Embargo: Krise in Antwerpen. After 13 years at the helm, Ari Epstein has announced his resignation as CEO of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) (…) The AWDC has been under scrutiny in recent months, particularly with the imposition of Group of Seven (G7) sanctions on Russian diamonds. The resultant European Union import ban on polished diamonds originating from Russian rough has caused substantial delays at Antwerp’s Diamond Office, the city’s customs centre. In response, 146 Belgian companies have lodged complaints with the AWDC. Furthermore, concerns have been raised within the industry regarding proposals mandating all rough diamonds to pass through Antwerp for the sale of polished diamonds within the G7. (Diamond World)

Mehr zum Wirtschaftskrieg hier

P.S. Heute wurde bekannt, dass die EU ein neues, 14. Paket mit Russland-Sanktionen plant. Die letzten 13 haben nicht die erwünschte Wirkung erzielt, also macht man munter weiter…