“We know that there is nearly no chance that the government will accept one of our proposals, and will not deliver any diplomatic results either, but it adds to the general perception, that these sanctions are not good for anybody,” Luc Rivet said.
Late last week, Aldo Carcaci, a lawmaker from the PP in the Chamber of Representatives, the lower house of the Belgium parliament, announced that he had drafted a resolution calling on the Belgian government to remove the anti-Russian sanctions as they damaging business. A discussion of the draft resolution may be organized in October after the parliamentary recess, according to Carcaci.
"The Parti Populaire is the only party in French-speaking Belgium which clearly supports the lifting of all sanctions unilaterally and considers that the European policy towards Ukraine and Russia is wrong, counterproductive and obnoxious for Europe," Rivet claimed.
According to him, most people in Europe and Belgium are apathetic about Brussels' policies on Russia and Ukraine as their minds are mostly preoccupied with immigration from Muslim countries, terrorism and economic stagnation with the of Dutch referendum on Ukraine being one one the rare exceptions.
In a national referendum in April, voters in the Netherlands rejected an EU partnership deal to remove trade barriers with Ukraine.
"The problem is that the people don't feel, don't see it as a priority. They don't feel for or against the issue of the relations of Europe with Russia. Our proposal makes them think about the issue," the spokesperson for the Popular Party concluded.
In 2014, following the crisis in Ukraine, the European Union accused Russia of meddling in the conflict and imposed sanctions against Russian businesses and individuals. In retaliation, Russia banned EU food imports, which has hit the European agribusiness hard.
