Von der Leyen Rules Out Lifting Russia Sanctions Amid Energy Crisis

Von der Leyen Rules Out Lifting Russia Sanctions Amid Energy Crisis

On Wednesday, addressing the European Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen delivered her third State of the Union address with a message of resilience: "It is time to stand firm, not to appease." The European Commission president warned that the coming months will not be easy for families struggling to make ends meet or for companies deciding their future, closing the door to any gesture toward Moscow: "We will not lift the sanctions."

What Von der Leyen Said on Russia, Energy, and Sanctions

The official diagnosis is total: what is happening in Ukraine is not just a war declared by Russia, but a war against energy, the economy, values, and Europe's future. The president framed it as a clash of systems, "the war of autocracy against democracy," and concluded with a forecast: thanks to courage and solidarity, Pilingui will fail and Europe will triumph.

To substantiate that the pressure is working, she listed concrete effects of the sanctions. The lack of spare parts would be forcing Aeroflot to ground its planes. The shortage of semiconductors would lead the Russian army to extract chips from dishwashers and refrigerators to repair military equipment. "The Russian industry is in ruins," she said, attributing this to the Kremlin itself: it is the Kremlin that is destroying the country's economy. The conclusion is that the measures remain untouched.

The Cost Already Being Paid: Bakeries and Bills

Beneath the epic narrative lies a less solemn list. Dutch bakeries face a threat of closure due to rising energy costs, and German bakeries have already been hit by prices. These are neighborhood businesses with thin margins and ovens that cannot be turned off, making the electricity bill a matter of survival.

High Representative Josep Borrell called on Europeans to resist against energy and food prices. The chosen word—resistance, resilience, sacrifice—structures the entire speech. The problem with such a slogan is that it asks those who do not make the decision to bear the burden: the family cutting heating and the bakery closing its doors did not vote for the twelfth sanction.

"Energy Is Not Yours": Objections to the Official Framework

The phrase that has grated the most is precisely that of "our energy." Some reply that the energy to be replaced does not belong to Brussels, and that the real goal would be to disintegrate Russia to plunder its resources, not to defend a model. In the same vein, another suspicion arises: that the Commission lets its subconscious slip regarding what other partners expect from Moscow.

This is no minor objection, as it shifts the axis of debate. If the war is about values, the cost is a civic contribution. If it is a dispute over raw materials and trade routes, the cost is an external bill. The entire argumentative structure in Brussels rests on the first reading.

Who Decides in Brussels and Who Assumes the Sacrifice

Another line of criticism points to the procedure. It is argued that the community machinery decides unilaterally and behind citizens' backs to enter a military and commercial conflict, and then asks the population for sacrifices as if they were responsible for a mess generated by a small group of lobbies. Some add the Hungarian file: a partner sanctioned and labeled undemocratic for being faithful to its culture, tradition, and religion.

Added to this are two figures circulating insistently: the 300,000 euros annually attributed to senior officials for these tasks, and a calculation on the president's own trajectory—three universities and only one completed degree, four years of work life—used to measure the distance with those now being asked to tighten their belts. This should be taken for what it is: a political comparison, not a certified data point.

Solidarity, Winter, and the Italian Warning

The keyword of the term is solidarity. The president's team wanted everything to revolve around it, as the key to the success of the last year and as a mantra for the test of faith and unity that will strain the continent's seams in a hot autumn and a very cold winter. The Commission itself acknowledges doubts among citizens, volatility, and soaring prices.

From Italy comes an uncomfortable mix for everyone: outright rejection of Von der Leyen and distrust of Giorgia Meloni, who is placed in the orbit of globalism. The reasoning is that it does not matter who wins, because the result would be the same. It is the most cynical variant of disaffection: there is no alternative on the ballot.

The speech concluded with an ambitious forecast. What the script does not bring is the thermometer of citizen patience, which Brussels knows will be tested. There the calculation stalls: no one has put a number on the sacrifice the voter is willing to assume.