European business votes for free economic zone from Lisbon to Vladivostok
EU asking to return to partnership with Russia
The key to the forum was set by the head of the Eastern Committee of the German Economy, Wolfgang Büchele. He said before the conference: “The EU and Russia should build new relationships of trust and return to partnership. We look forward to the resumption of negotiations with the Eurasian Economic Union and Russia on the unification of standards, norms and customs regulations. This economic dialogue may also lead to detente in the Ukrainian crisis. ”
Against the background of rampant anti-Russian hysteria in the West, Büchel’s statement seems unexpected. In fact, the Berlin conference was originally conceived as a platform for creating a single economic distance from Lisbon to Vladivostok. This was recalled by one of the organizers of the event, the head of the UniCredit host council, Giuseppe Vita.
In recent years, politics has seriously broken business plans. There was a cooling of relations between Russia and the European Union, the cause of which was not only the Ukrainian conflict, but, as one of the conference participants put it, and the fact that Russia “redefines its role” in the world. Previous economic ties have complicated sanctions and counter sanctions. The idea of a big Europe from Lisbon to Vladivostok began to turn into a beautiful, almost unattainable dream.
However, it is not forgotten. First, because the sanctions, according to the forum participants, hampered economic development throughout Europe. Secondly, the project from the very beginning was promising for business. He was mostly guilty of those European politicians who are concerned about the strengthening of Russia. And the project of Greater Europe noticeably raises the role of Russia in the world.
Business is generally satisfied. Therefore, in the days of the conference every positive was caught here. newswhether it be a meeting of a contact group in Minsk or the restoration of the work of the Russia-NATO Council. Such moments brought the parties closer to cooperation, and they welcomed this at the forum.
The mood at the Berlin conference materialized in concrete figures. Wolfgang Büchele, head of the Eastern Committee of the German economy, Giuseppe Sconyamillo, vice president of UniCredit bank, and Yvonne Bollow, head of the international department of the Metro Group concern, reported on them at the final meeting. They presented the results of the traditional survey of participants, who first of all evaluated the relations between Russia and the EU.
According to the survey, 81% of participants in the economic forum supports the creation of a free trade zone from Lisbon to Vladivostok, and 70% requires closer cooperation between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union in the energy sector.
Expressed in Berlin and their attitude to the sanctions regime. Here the picture is not so definite. About 35% of respondents expect to cancel the sanctions regime already this year, 27,5% in the next, and 38% are confident that sanctions will continue in the coming years.
They also answered the question about the main obstacles for doing business in Russia at the forum. The conference participants named corruption, inadequate government policies, bureaucracy, protectionism, and a weak legal system. On the Russian side, these claims were listened to by the First Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Alexei Likhachev and Director General of Gazprom Export Elena Burmistrova. Perhaps, in the framework of economic conferences held in Russia, they will react to the criticism of European businessmen. The most significant of the nearest forums is expected in the summer in St. Petersburg.
On the example of a British company
There, the Russians will say their word. They have a special account for Europe. It concerns, among other things, the sanctions, which, whatever one may say, were introduced by Europe after all. And it is she who is responsible for the tension that has arisen in relations between the EU and Russia. Experts assess the impact of sanctions on the Russian economy in different ways. For example, according to the chief economist of Citigroup for Russia and the CIS, Ivan Chakarov, last year's GDP decline only by 10% was provoked by Western sanctions, the remaining 90% was caused by a fall in oil prices.
Daniel Gross and Frédéric Mustilli of the Center for European Policy Studies made an analysis of the losses of companies in Europe. They noted that the EU share in Russian imports remained stable until the end of 2014. Then dropped to 37%. Now export of goods from the EU to Russia is estimated at less than $ 500 million per month. Moreover, after the introduction of sanctions, the share of the US in Russian imports increased by 10%.
European farmers suffered the most. History with Polish apples on everyone's lips. Here is an example of their Hungarian neighbors. Not so long ago, at a meeting with St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko, Minister of Foreign Economic Relations and Foreign Affairs of Hungary Peter Siyarto admitted that the imposition of sanctions against Russia had a negative impact on the economy of his country. The turnover here fell by 4,5 billion dollars. A similar story can be told by many Siyarto European colleagues.
For Russia, the main damage was caused by the closure of foreign capital markets. As noted in their article published in Voprosy Ekonomiki, representatives of the Economic Expert Group Evsey Gurvich and Ilya Prilepsky, the financial sanctions of the West have had an effect “in the form of a reduction in foreign direct investment, a reduction in the possibilities for borrowing companies and banks that have not fallen under sanctions capital market debt. If in the pre-sated 2013, Russian issuers attracted $ 46,4 billion through Eurobonds, in 2014, only $ 10,4 billion, and in 2015, just over $ 5 billion. ”
As you can see, no one won from the sanctions. However, the companies that continued to work in Russia did not remain in value. The most striking example here is last year's results of the British company BP. According to Bloomberg experts, the oil and gas giant "has found a true paradise in Russia with its low taxes and low operating costs."
Participation in the capital of Rosneft became the main success factor for BP. Dividends from its shares in 2015 made up 22 as a percentage of the income of a British company in Russia. The opposite situation was observed in the United States, which account for about 28 percent of the total volume of oil and natural gas produced by BP. As reported by TASS, the British company reported here a loss of 1,6 billion dollars.
This is public information. With her familiar and European business. It is not by chance that, contrary to the anti-Russian rhetoric of politicians, representatives of European business circles are already insisting on restoring full-fledged economic cooperation with Russia. Indicative in this regard was the forum held in the German capital. He clearly stated the claims of the European business on a common economic space from Lisbon to Vladivostok. Obstacles on this path are still sanctions and the anti-Russian position of European officials. But the voice of business Europe is getting louder and more concrete ...
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