EU may witness more protests: Ex-Austrian Vice Chancellor

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Former Austrian Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache has warned of an impending shortage of raw resources in the EU as a result of the bloc's draconian sanctions against Russia.

Strache, who also served as leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), said that “the sanctions have increased the foreign trade turnover of raw materials in Russia from $100 billion to $220 billion, while in Europe, prices for energy supplies, raw materials, electricity, and food are rising significantly.”

“Inflation hits industry, businesses, citizens, and households amid record levels of bankruptcies and massive unemployment. More people are fighting poverty, and the economy can afford less production in the face of an inevitable shortage of raw materials,” the ex-Austrian vice chancellor said.

Many EU companies, he continued, "are no longer internationally competitive as a result of production costs that have escalated and their products' increasing costs."

The previous head of the FPO advised that Austria should similarly purchase energy resources from Hungary. He stated that the government should put "the interests of its people, who should not be tormented by unemployment and poverty," first and foremost.

According to Strache, the foreign minister of Hungary Peter Szijjarto spoke by phone earlier this week with Alexander Novak, the deputy prime minister of Russia, and the two officials agreed to discuss the possibility of changing long-term gas purchase agreements between Hungary and Russia in response to the introduction of a potential price cap on Russian blue fuel.

Sanctions damage the Europeans themselves

“People don’t want to be out of work, they don’t want to be cold as they watch arms deliveries instead of peace proposals,” Strache stressed, referencing Western countries providing Kiev with weapons for the war.

“This is all a contradiction that is becoming more and more obvious to citizens of Europe,” he said.

The sanctions imposed by the EU on Russia, in Strache's words, "obviously damage the Europeans themselves" and are "rejected by an increasing number of citizens" of the EU member states.

Thousands have been protesting across Europe against skyrocketing energy prices, inflation, and arms deliveries to Ukraine.

Strache argued that there is a possibility of reaching a peace treaty if "this proxy war in Ukraine is slowed down by background major players such as the US and its NATO allies in Europe," and also "if the supply of arms to Ukraine will be stopped."

It is worth noting that two United States officials and a senior administration official revealed that Pentagon is finalizing plans to send the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine, which could be announced as soon as this week, US media outlets reported on Tuesday.

After the beginning of the war in Ukraine and the adoption of several packages of sanctions against Moscow by the West, fuel prices have accelerated the growth, pushing many Western governments to resort to contingency measures. However, western sanctions backfired, having detrimental effects on the world's global markets most notably gas and oil. European governments are now suffering the repercussions of their sanctions amid rising strikes and protests over the cost of living and pay.