- Joined
- Feb 6, 2014
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- Political Leaning
- Conservative
I don't believe the EU will do much of anything, with the exception of the eastern european countries formerly part of the Soviet block.
I think the EU will do a great deal economically. There are significant Russian minorities in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldovia, Kazakhstan etc, as well as a very significant number of russified Belarusans.
Though it is doubtful that Putin intends to strong arm these nations, the EU might think it better to keep the Ossetia, then Abkazia, then Crimea, then... ? pattern from going any further- especially if this can be done with out military force against a Russian economy with some inherent weaknesses.
Also, a weak economic response on Crimea might embolden Putin to press for eastern Ukraine, or a full union treaty with Ukraine. This could start a major war and have more economic losses for the EU than sanctions.
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