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Also why no one is questioning the EU reaction to the war. No one forced them to impose sanctions on Russia. They should have foreseen the gas situation and mea

Also why no one is questioning the EU reaction to the war. No one forced them to impose sanctions on Russia. They should have foreseen the gas situation and measured their response. EU tried to commit economic suicide with covid lockdowns and the Ukraine war. Seems they finally succeeded. Too bad I earn my salary in Euro. Because of Brussels I can buy almost as half as last year.

kuratkull 4y ago
I think you are in the minority with your stance. Most Europeans support the sanctions, and rightly so. Tough times require compromises. Expecting to live in stable, uneventful bliss forever is certainly desirable, but very naïve.
- ReptileMan 4y ago
  Then why is everyone whining?
  - kuratkull 4y ago
    Someone is always whining, usually whiners are louder than ... the non-whiners. And I didn't say everyone supports the sanctions. 10, 20 or 30% of people of a large group can whine so loud you'd think they are speaking for the whole world.
- blub 4y ago
  First of all, the sanction blowback hasn’t hit Europe with full force yet, of course one would otherwise support something that enjoys massive media and government support when the real costs aren’t obvious. Secondly, this needn’t have been tough times, if the EU had prepared. Or failing that, recognized that it can’t declare economic war on Russia and enjoy gas deliveries as usual. Thirdly, “stable, uneventful bliss” must be a poor attempt at humor. Did you miss the multi-year global pandemic that we still haven’t recovered from?
wongarsu 4y ago
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Being unrelenting on Russia invading Ukraine is a strategic measure to make further war in Europe unlikely. I don't think there's a politician who didn't see that sanctioning Russia could lead to an unstable oil and gas situation, but on the whole it was deemed worth it (and in polls most people seem to agree).
christophilus 4y ago
The EU didn’t decide to start a war. Putin did. (How’s that working out for Russia, by the way?) The EU was forced into a bad situation due to the recklessness of Moscow. That said the writing was on the wall 8 years ago or so, and the EU really should have been diversifying away from dependence on Russia.
- blub 4y ago
  The energy market shock wasn’t caused by the Russia-Ukraine war. That’s a local conflict which would typically not have a significant impact on energy deliveries. The market shock is caused by lack of supply caused by Russia cutting deliveries, which in turn was caused by the EU declaring economic war on Russia.
  - MattPalmer1086 4y ago
    Which in turn was caused by the Russia Ukraine war...
    - blub 4y ago
      Technically correct and yet the unprecedented extent of the sanctions, the lack of a defensive treaty with the attacked party and the vulnerability of the EU to these very sanctions make them debatable. It is precisely this debate which is being suppressed through either public shaming or by directly blaming Russia and omitting the role of the EU (and US) in this economic fiasco.
      - MattPalmer1086 4y ago
        We did not want to support Putin in his reckless war. We certainly didn't want this to become the first of many such wars. Better to address this aggression with a very firm response, even if it means sacrifices on our side. So, yeah, we decided to impose those sanctions, knowing it would affect us badly, but we did it anyway. Most people seem to support this, at least for now. What point are you trying to make? That we should blame our governments for doing something most of us agree is painful but necessary?

kuratkull 4y ago

I think you are in the minority with your stance. Most Europeans support the sanctions, and rightly so. Tough times require compromises. Expecting to live in stable, uneventful bliss forever is certainly desirable, but very naïve.

ReptileMan 4y ago
Then why is everyone whining?
- kuratkull 4y ago
  Someone is always whining, usually whiners are louder than ... the non-whiners. And I didn't say everyone supports the sanctions. 10, 20 or 30% of people of a large group can whine so loud you'd think they are speaking for the whole world.
blub 4y ago
First of all, the sanction blowback hasn’t hit Europe with full force yet, of course one would otherwise support something that enjoys massive media and government support when the real costs aren’t obvious. Secondly, this needn’t have been tough times, if the EU had prepared. Or failing that, recognized that it can’t declare economic war on Russia and enjoy gas deliveries as usual. Thirdly, “stable, uneventful bliss” must be a poor attempt at humor. Did you miss the multi-year global pandemic that we still haven’t recovered from?

wongarsu 4y ago

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Being unrelenting on Russia invading Ukraine is a strategic measure to make further war in Europe unlikely. I don't think there's a politician who didn't see that sanctioning Russia could lead to an unstable oil and gas situation, but on the whole it was deemed worth it (and in polls most people seem to agree).

christophilus 4y ago

The EU didn’t decide to start a war. Putin did. (How’s that working out for Russia, by the way?) The EU was forced into a bad situation due to the recklessness of Moscow. That said the writing was on the wall 8 years ago or so, and the EU really should have been diversifying away from dependence on Russia.

blub 4y ago
The energy market shock wasn’t caused by the Russia-Ukraine war. That’s a local conflict which would typically not have a significant impact on energy deliveries. The market shock is caused by lack of supply caused by Russia cutting deliveries, which in turn was caused by the EU declaring economic war on Russia.
- MattPalmer1086 4y ago
  Which in turn was caused by the Russia Ukraine war...
  - blub 4y ago
    Technically correct and yet the unprecedented extent of the sanctions, the lack of a defensive treaty with the attacked party and the vulnerability of the EU to these very sanctions make them debatable. It is precisely this debate which is being suppressed through either public shaming or by directly blaming Russia and omitting the role of the EU (and US) in this economic fiasco.
    - MattPalmer1086 4y ago
      We did not want to support Putin in his reckless war. We certainly didn't want this to become the first of many such wars. Better to address this aggression with a very firm response, even if it means sacrifices on our side. So, yeah, we decided to impose those sanctions, knowing it would affect us badly, but we did it anyway. Most people seem to support this, at least for now. What point are you trying to make? That we should blame our governments for doing something most of us agree is painful but necessary?