Member states continue to buy energy resources from Russia despite EU sanctions, Bild has reported<\/p>\n
EU member states imported \u20ac8.7 billion ($10.2 billion) worth of Russian goods in the first three months of 2025 alone, Bild has reported, citing data from the German Economic Institute.
\nIn the first quarter of this year, the EU-Russia trade balance was slightly skewed in Moscow\u2019s favor, meaning that the bloc purchased more from its eastern neighbor than it sold. The German media outlet singled out natural gas imports, accounting for \u20ac4.4 billion, and crude oil at \u20ac1.4 billion as the top two items being imported by Russia to the EU
\nIn the wake of the Ukraine conflict escalation in February 2022, the bloc declared its intention to cut economic ties with Moscow. While imports of Russian gas and oil have dropped significantly since, a number of EU nations still source a large proportion of their energy supplies from Russia.
\nSeveral member states have watched their industries lose ground globally after switching to costlier alternatives.
\nAlso topping the list in early 2025 were Russian fertilizers, iron and steel, as well as nickel, according to Bild.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Lindsey Graham threatens two NATO states over Russian oil<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, the European Commission proposed its RePowerEU Roadmap that envisages a complete phase-out of all Russian energy imports by the end of 2027.
\nHungary and Slovakia, both heavily dependent on Russian energy supplies, have strongly opposed the plan, saying that it would undermine their respective energy security.
\nHungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto accused certain member states earlier this month of \u201chypocrisy,\u201d claiming that they are still buying \u201cRussian oil secretly\u201d via Asian intermediaries.
\nIn August, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz acknowledged that his country was \u201cnot just in a period of economic weakness, we are in a structural crisis of our economy,\u201d citing falling earnings by Germany\u2019s major automakers.
\nCommenting on the bloc\u2019s economic woes back in April, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that \u201cthis is the true cost of the EU\u2019s anti-Russian agenda.\u201d
\n\u201cRussophobia is an expensive obsession,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Member states continue to buy energy resources from Russia despite EU sanctions, Bild has reported EU member states imported \u20ac8.7 billion ($10.2 billion) worth of Russian goods in the first…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18548,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t