MOSCOW (Sputnik) — National and regional legislatures in France and Italy have been calling on the national governments to scrap sanctions against Russia, saying they hurt local economies. Most recently, Belgian People’s Party challenged the EU sanctions in a motion to the national parliament.
"As we see, many members of the European parliaments start to realize that the anti-Russia sanctions are not working and [are] ineffective," Mariani, a member of French parliament’s foreign affairs committee. I know that other parliaments in Europe will support motions of lifting anti-Russia sanctions," the lawmaker told journalists, adding the French parliament had set an example for the rest of Europe.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault declared in Washington, DC last week that Paris was willing to phase out restrictions it imposed on Russia in 2014, after France’s both legislative chambers voted for this earlier this year.
