The EU buys hundreds of millions of euros worth of Russian fish every year, despite the war and sanctions – Euroactiv
24 December 09:32
The European Union continues to import fish from Russia on a large scale, despite the war against Ukraine and its stated intention to reduce trade with the aggressor country. This is reported by Euroactiv with reference to data for 2024, "Komersant Ukrainian" informs
How much Russian fish does the EU buy
According to the publication, in 2024, EU countries purchased €709 million worth of Russian fish. The largest importers were:
- The Netherlands,
- Germany, France
- France,
- Poland.
It should be noted that the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal are among the top three importers of Russian cod within the EU.
Supply chain bypasses
Despite the sanctions policy, Russian fish continues to enter the European market through indirect channels. In particular, as Euroactiv notes, Russian cod can be imported duty-free into the EU after processing in Norway, which effectively circumvents the restrictions.
Russian companies under sanctions
At the same time, two large Russian fishing companies – Norebo and Murman Seafood – have recently been found guilty of conducting state espionage in EU waters. This was the basis for sanctions against them.
Calls for more restrictions
Latvian Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Armands Krause told Euroactiv that the existing measures are not enough, and EU countries should increase sanctions pressure.
“In the current geopolitical situation, we cannot stop at what has already been done. To support Ukraine, we need to consistently restrict trade with Russia and Belarus,” Krause said.
