HELSINKI, Aug 7 (Xinhua): While voicing his support for the latest round of EU sanctions against Russia, Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb admitted that it will exert a significant indirect impact on the Finnish economy.
He told a press conference in Espoo in southern Finland on Wednesday that the direct impact on the Finnish economy would be limited but the indirect affect in the long term could be quite significant.
The impact could potentially even lead to an economic crisis in Finland, Stubb stressed.
As a close neighbour to the east, Russia is one of the most important trade partners of Finland. Russia's share of Finland's exports last year was 10 per cent.
The Bank of Finland predicted that a decline of 3 per cent in the Russian economy will mean 0.5 per cent decline in Finland.
Stubb estimated the indirect impact of the sanctions could be up to billions of euros.
The deterioration of the Russian economy before sanctions were imposed had already exerted negative impact on the Finnish economy.
According to the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries, the technology industry's Russian exports between January and April were 18 per cent less in comparison to the corresponding period of last year, with the largest drops being experienced in the metal and electronic industries.
Experts from the federation believed that the engineering and technology industries are among the most seriously affected sectors.
The lack of investment could be one of the major reasons, as sanctions targeting the Russian financial market will obstruct the Russian state-owned financial enterprises' access to finance.
Bans against Russia a heavy blow to Finnish economy
FE Team | Published: August 08, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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