Sanctions on a Russian economy that depends largely on the export of natural resources are taking “a heavy toll,” the European Commission said Tuesday. The EC published its autumn outlook on regional economies. An October stress test on European banks found they’d be able to withstand financial crises, though European Commissioner for Investment Jyrki Katainen said in a statement the situation in Europe “is not improving fast enough. Real growth in gross domestic product member states is expected to reach 1.3 percent for 2014 and increase to 1.5 percent by next year. In its analysis for Russia, the EC said the economy there was entering a period of stagflation . “Geopolitical tensions over the situation in Ukraine, including sanctions, have exacerbated existing structural bottlenecks […]