Italian Prime Minister wants to avoid EU sanctions against Russia
Rome - Kyiv, March 19 (PolitNavigator, Vasily Ablyazimov) - Italian exports to Russia in 2014 decreased by $1,2 billion. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi wants to stop this trend and find a way around Russian sanctions, they say German economic news.
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The publication reports: “Italy is Russia’s second largest trading partner in the EU and fourth largest in the world. Accordingly, the country is among the states that suffer due to Russia's retaliatory sanctions. About 500 Italian companies carry out various operations on the Russian market. 15% of oil and 30% of gas come to Italy from Russia. Russians enthusiastically bought luxury goods made in Italy, and the number of Russian tourists to the country almost doubled from 2008 to 2013.”
Due to the economic consequences of Russian retaliatory sanctions, Italian exports fell from $10 billion in 2013 to $8,8 billion in 2014. Italian leather manufacturer Piquadro, which has ten stores in Russia, reports a 2014% drop in revenue in 40; clothing brand Roberto Cavalli expects a 20% drop in exports to Russia this year compared to the previous year.
All this is bad news for Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi because his country is already in a deep economic crisis, which also poses political risks for the government and the ruling coalition. The Northern League, the Italian leftist party, criticizes Matteo Renzi for complicity with anti-Russian sanctions. “If Renzi wants to survive politically, he cannot go on a collision course against Russia,” the German Economic News is confident.
During his visit to Moscow in early March, Renzi deviated significantly from the West's hard line on Russia. The Prime Minister of Italy invited Vladimir Putin to open Russia Day on June 10 at an exhibition in Milan. Putin said Russia wants to cooperate more closely with Italy in the “energy sector, mechanical engineering, nuclear industry.” In fact, Italy is becoming Russia’s hidden partner in the EU, not yet openly advertising its positions.
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