Brussels to respond if US Russia sanctions disregard EU needs

BRUSSELS/BERLIN, Jul 26 (PRIME) -- The European Commission is ready to respond if new U.S. sanctions against Russia are implemented disregarding the European worries, the authority said in a statement released on Wednesday.

“Commissioners expressed their concerns notably because of the draft bill's possible impact on E.U. energy independence,” the statement says.

President Jean-Claude Juncker said, as cited in the statement, “This is why the commission concluded today that if our concerns are not taken into account sufficiently, we stand ready to act appropriately within a matter of days.”

The U.S. Congress voted for a bill including new sanctions against Russia and several other states by an overwhelming majority on Tuesday. The bill will come in force if signed by the president.

Deputy chief spokeswoman for the German government Ulrike Demmer said that the E.U. and Washington must continue coordination of the Russia sanctions policies.

“We think that the European industry must not be a target of the American sanctions, this stays true… Furthermore, continuation of close cooperation between the U.S. and the E.U. in the sanctions policies against Russia is important. We will be studying the draft law in this context,” Demmer said.

German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said that the sanctions are causing concern in Germany not only in industry, The measures must not become a tool to achieve U.S. industry interests.

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