In numbers, who is the biggest loser from sanctions: Russia or Europe?

Western economic sanctions against Russia are gradually increasing in severity, the largest of which was the expulsion of a number of Russian financial institutions from the global "SWIFT" system for communication between financial institutions.

The effects of these sanctions began to appear on the value of the Russian currency (the ruble), and on the performance of the Russian financial market. On the other hand, fears in Europe are that Russia will decide to cut or reduce gas supplies.

The Russian-European economic relations drag on decades of complex and unstable relations, but they are intertwined and strong, as each party is an important trading partner of the other.

But the question remains who is the biggest loser in this economic war, and who needs the other more to maintain the stability of his economy.

What is the size of the trade relations between the two parties?

Russia is the fifth trading partner of the European Union in the world, and trade with Russia represents 4.8% of the total trade transactions of the European Union during the year 2020, according to European Commission data.

On the other hand, the European Union is Russia's first trading partner, as the Union imports 37.3% of Russia's total exports of goods and merchandise, meaning that more than a third of Russian goods go mainly to the European market.

In 2020, Russian imports from the European Union amounted to 36.5% of the total Russian imports.

On the other hand, Russian exports to the European Union amounted to 37.9% of the total Russian exports.

These figures show that the European Union is Russia's largest and most important partner, which provides it with more than a third of its needs and imports more than a third of the goods it provides.

How dependent is Europe on Russian gas and oil?

Among the most important papers that Moscow possesses in its dealings with the European Union is the gas and oil paper, as the European bloc gets 26% of its oil needs from Russia, and 40% of its gas needs from Russia as well.

These figures show the extent of European dependence on Russian gas in particular, which was expressed by German Foreign Minister Annalena Birbock, saying that her country made a mistake by relying too much on Russian gas, especially since Germany is one of the European countries most dependent on Russian gas.

Therefore, if Russia decides to cut off gas from European countries, this will mean a real crisis within the countries of the Union, and may even make life impossible for some European countries that depend on Russian gas by more than 60% (Latvia depends on Russian gas by 93%, and Bulgaria It depends on Russian gas by 77%, and Germany by 49%).

What does the European Union import from Russia?

The volume of trade exchange between the European Union and Russia in 2020 amounted to more than 174.3 billion dollars, and the volume of European imports from Russia amounted to 95.3 billion dollars.

Energy exports monopolize 70% of the total EU imports from Russia, followed by agricultural and primary materials with 4.5%, steel and iron by 4%, and chemicals by 4%.

What does Russia import from the European Union?

Russia imports from the European Union a total of 79 billion dollars. Russia buys mainly machinery and transportation (44% of all Russian imports), then chemicals by 21%, manufactured goods by 9.6%, and finally agricultural products by 8.7%.

As for services, the total exchanges between the two parties in this field amount to $27.7 billion, of which $8.9 billion is sold by Russia to the European Union, and $18.8 billion is sold by the European Union to Russia.

Who invests more money at the other?

The European Union is the largest foreign investor in Russia, and in 2019 the volume of European direct investments in the Russian market amounted to more than 311 billion dollars.

In contrast, direct Russian investments in the European Union amounted to $136 billion.

Britain is the preferred destination for Russian investments, followed by Poland, then the Baltic states, then France and Germany, which are the countries that Russia describes as "the preferred destinations for its investments."

What sectors were most affected by the war?

European banking institutions are among the worst affected.

According to the European Central Bank, the volume of Russian debt that it owes to European banks amounts to more than 60 billion dollars, which is equivalent to 4 times the European debts provided to American banks. .

Also, European banks have debts on Ukraine, which are sovereign loans amounting to 24 dollars, which are also certain that they will default and know a delay in their repayment.