How UK/Germany/Holland/France/Italy Relies On Doing Business With Russia

In 2013, Germany took more than 40 billion cubic metres of gas from Russia out of a total of 127 billion exported to the whole of Western Europe, and the Italians took 26 billion cubic metres of gas from Russia

The trade has been two-way. Germany exported 36 billion euros worth of goods to Russia in 2013

The problem is that Angela Merkel knows that the Berlin-Moscow relationship is one that she destabilises at Germany’s peril.

For although Germany’s economy is strong relative to the rest of Europe’s, it is going through an extended period of low or no-growth as a result of the over-valuation of the euro, which makes its exports to outside the eurozone prohibitively expensive.

For Angela Merkel, the priority is to shore up the European Union — rather than lead a principled international response to Russian aggression.