Our colleagues at RTL spoke to the President of the Chamber of Commerce and President of the European Federation of Commerce Chambers about the unfolding war in Ukraine.
Luc Frieden expressed his view that economic sanctions are bad for both sides of a conflict. Nevertheless, the current situation has become intolerable, which means unprecedented measures had to be taken: "One now has to accept that sanctions will also hurt oneself. This is a pointless, unprovoked, and one-sided war, which we unanimously condemned."
The former minister further stressed that sanctions will come at a cost: "The EU's annual exports to Russia are worth €80 billion. This makes up 5% of total exports and will thus also be felt in Luxembourg. The price that we have to pay will be high."
Frieden finally issued a warning over rising energy costs and looming inflation: "We have to see to it that we further support businesses in their digitalisation and energy transition and make sure not to delay them. However, this will not be possible without damages and we are now facing a difficult year in economic terms."
