EU probing rising exports of sanctioned goods toward Russia's neighbors

The European Union is set to investigate growing exports to countries that are Russia's neighbors, believing that this way, suppliers may be circumventing Western sanctions.

This is according to RFE/RL, referring to the Financial Times, Ukrinform reports.

A significant increase in the export of goods from the EU to countries neighboring Russia raises the question of whether goods under Russia sanctions are delivered through these countries, the EU's special representative for sanctions, David O'Sullivan, told the newspaper.

At the same time, O'Sullivan did not name the countries that re-export European goods to the Russian Federation, referring to the presumption of innocence.

The FT notes that, according to an analysis run by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Türkiye have significantly increased imports from Western countries and their exports to Russia. This growth, as journalists emphasize, coincides with a more than 50% drop in EU, US, and UK exports to Russia compared to the average figures recorded in 2017-2019.

One possible factor behind the change in trade patterns, according to the FT, is that Western companies are voluntarily giving up direct sales to Russia, even when their products are not subject to sanctions. In a comment to the publication, EBRD Chief Economist Beata Javorcik noted that there has recently been an increase in the export of goods from the EU that could potentially fall under sanctions.

One of the measures to combat the circumvention of EU sanctions, as the FT notes, was the launch by the European Commission of an online platform, with the help of which anonymous reports could be filed of violations by Russia and Belarus of the economic restrictions imposed against them.

Earlier, the experts with the Euromonitor International research group announced a significant increase in the export of goods from the EU to the countries of the former USSR that are neighboring Russia.

According to Eurostat data cited by Euromonitor International, exports from Europe to Russia after the sanctions were introduced in the period from March to November 2022 fell by 47% against the same period in 2021, amounting to EUR 36.3 billion. But at the same time, the export of European goods to countries neighboring Russia (Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan) increased by the same 48% in the same period of 2022, standing at EUR 20.3 billion.