EU's Borrell Says Bloc's Prosperity Based on Cheap Russian Energy, Chinese Market

MOSCOW, (Sputnik) - The European Union's prosperity used to be based on cheap energy from Russia and Chinese markets, but now the bloc needs to look for energy sources inside Europe and restructure its economy, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday.

"Our prosperity was based on China and Russia. [Russian] Energy and [Chinese] market. And clearly, today we have to find new ways for energy, from inside European Union as much as we can because we should not change one dependency by another. The best energy is the one that you produce at home. And this will produce a strong restructuring of our economy. That’s for sure, people are not aware of that but the fact that Russia and China are no longer the ones that were for our economic development will require a strong restructuring of our economy," Borrell said at the annual conference of EU Ambassadors in Brussels.

Top EU diplomat also recalled that the EU has long relied on the Chinese market for exports and imports, technology transfer, investment and buying of cheap goods, adding that a cheap Chinese workforce contributed more to curbing inflation growth than all European central banks together.

"Access to China is becoming more and more difficult. The adjustment will be tough. And this will create political problems," Borrell warned.

Western countries have increased sanctions pressure on Russia since the start of the special operation in Ukraine on February 24. Disruption in supply chains has led to higher fuel and food prices across the EU, driving inflation to record levels and causing cost of living to soar.