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Added on the 26/07/2022 12:21:53 - Copyright : France 24 EN
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warns that the eurozone could fall into recession next year in the case of a total shutdown of Russian gas supplies. The "downside scenario" for 2023 foresees negative growth in the case of a "total shutdown of all Russian gas supply" and energy rationing in the eurozone, she said, after the ECB unleashed a record rate hike. SOUNDBITE
In Luxembourg, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner says it is not yet possible for the EU to cut Russian gas imports as a sanction against Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. SOUNDBITE
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen warns that "Russia is blackmailing" EU member states and "using energy as a weapon." Russian President Vladimir Putin has played hot and cold in recent days with his threats to cut off gas deliveries to the bloc of 27 members, but Brussels is asking EU countries to prepare for the worst. SOUNDBITE
The European Commission urges EU countries to reduce their demand for natural gas by 15 percent over the coming winter months to overcome Russia's energy supply "blackmail". SOUNDBITE
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, arrives to vote at the Russian embassy in Berlin thronged by supporter after calling for voters to spoil their ballots in protest at Russia's stage-managed presidential election. The election is set to hand President Vladimir Putin another six years in the Kremlin, with Navalny, Putin's most prominent critic, dead in opaque circumstances in an Arctic prison last month. IMAGES
Hundreds gather outside the Russian embassy in Berlin to protest against Russia's invasion in Ukraine on the last day of a presidential election guaranteed to see Vladimir Putin win another six-year term. IMAGES