Finland Times

 

Danske Bank chief economist Pasi Kuoppamäki.File Photo – Lehtikuva.

New sanctions against Russia will have a negative impact on the country’s economy regardless of where the sanctions are targeted at, said Danske Bank Chief Economist Pasi Kuoppamäki.

 

According to Kuoppamäki, with the expanded sanctions it is possible that Russia might be faced with constraints related to money transfer. Kuoppamäki points out that this measure would complicate the operations of Russian companies as well as companies working in Russia as such the measure should be carefully deliberated.

 

News agency Bloomberg on Saturday quoted an unnamed official source saying that the United Kingdom would like the European Union to consider blocking Russia’s access to the SWIFT banking transaction system under the expanded sanctions.

 

The system is Russia’s most important connection to the international financial system.

 

According to Kuoppamäki, this is one possible option which could be resorted to under the expanded sanctions.

 

European Union leaders decided early Sunday to give Russia one week to de-escalate the Ukraine crisis, or they will impose tougher sanctions on Russia, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy told a news conference after a special summit in Brussels, reported news agency Xinhua.

 

After the EU summit, Prime Minister Alexander Stubb on Saturday said new sanctions will hit the financial sector the most.

 

In addition, the sanctions might target the arms trade, technology in the energy sector and the so-called dual-use products which are used both for civilian and military purposes.