EU Sanctions could Cost 10,000 Antwerp Diamond Jobs
October 06, 22
(IDEX Online) - A European ban on Russian diamonds could cost 10,000 Belgian jobs, says the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC).
Tom Neys, spokesman for the AWDC, told EUobserver the center was against an EU ban because Russia would welcome the opportunity to sell its diamonds in Dubai or India instead.
He said Russia could switch export venues overnight and never return to Europe.
Belgium's prime minister Alexander De Croo has repeatedly said he wouldn't veto any such European Commission sanctions, but that imposing them would hurt Europe more than Russia.
European Union members were today (6 October) meeting in Prague to discuss a proposed eighth round of sanctions against Russia.
Five of the bloc's 27 countries, including Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, have reportedly called for diamond sanctions, but they are not due to be discussed.
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky has been calling for Europe to join the US in sanctioning Russian diamonds since shortly after Putin invaded in February.