“Belgium took fourth place, increasing its imports by a quarter in monetary terms. Poland closes the top five, increasing its imports from Russia by 19% in one month. Bulgaria, Denmark, Latvia, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Croatia, and Estonia also increased their imports.

At the same time, fourteen EU countries reduced their imports of Russian goods. Cyprus became the leader, reducing imports by 92%, followed by Austria (40%) and Luxembourg (37%). Finland (down 27%), Portugal, and the Czech Republic also reduced their imports from Russia. Hungary, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and France also reduced their imports of Russian goods in June.

In June, Germany imported the most Russian goods in monetary terms, importing them for 3.5 billion euros, followed by Italy (2.6 billion euros) and the Netherlands (1.7 billion euros). Belgium took fourth place (1.3 billion euros), and France came in fifth (1.2 billion euros).

In June, Malta became the country with the lowest imports from Russia among EU countries, amounting to 365.4 thousand euros. Luxembourg imported Russian goods worth 2.9 million euros, while Cyprus imported 5.6 million euros’ worth. Croatia purchased Russian goods for 12.1 million euros, and Ireland for 17.5 million euros.

After Russia began its special operation in Ukraine, the EU began imposing sanctions against Russia, including those on the import of Russian goods and raw materials. Some European countries also refused to switch to paying for Russian gas in rubles, resulting in Gazprom ceasing deliveries to them.

Due to the sanctions and the policy of moving away from Russian fuel, western countries faced rising energy prices and inflation. Against the backdrop of rising fuel costs, primarily for gas, industry in Europe largely lost its competitive advantage, which also affected other sectors of the economy. The United States and European states also faced record inflation for decades.

Source: RIA Novosti.”