German firms hurting over Russia sanctions

THE LOCAL de ^ | 02 Jan 2015 08:00 GMT+01:00 | THE LOCAL de

[WhiskeyX]

Hundreds of German companies active in Russia are suspending or will cancel projects due to international sanctions over Ukraine and the weakened rouble.

Thirty-six percent of 200 firms polled in December by the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce expected to cancel projects due to the situation in Russia.

And 58 percent said they had been hurt by the sanctions, which began in March after Moscow's annexation of Crimea and grew in response to Moscow's support for pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The biggest reverse shift so far for German business in Russia came last week when chemical giant BASF cancelled a deal with Russian energy giant Gazprom involving natural gas extraction and distribution.

Car makers Opel and Volkswagen are also among those now freezing, scaling back or closing Russia operations, including laying off Russian staff.

But the number of firms abandoning the country altogether is still only about three percent of the total, the chamber notes.

[Berlin_Freeper]

People are supposed to be smart with their money.

[ansel12]

For crying out loud, Russia will suffer if they attack their neighboring countries

What must the world do to stop those nuts?.

[elhombrelibre]

Of course, that’s the downside of sanctions. However, it’s a small price for Germans to pay when you consider the alternative of letting Putin continue his revanchist policies. And if Russia can pursue revanchist policies, why not Germany? Kaliningrad is, after all, more German than Crimea is Russian.