EU supports sanctions on Russian metals

The country of Finland advocates economic suicide as does the other countries of the European Union.

Finland that throughout the Cold War had an excellent trading relationship with the Soviet Union which continued on with Russia with whom it shares a huge border. Even after it joined the European Union trade between the countries was good,Russia was Finand's 5th largest trading partner and many Fininsh companies were active in Russia particularly in the forestry,timber and wood working sectors. All of this came to an abrupt end when Finland decided to join NATO and then get involved in the imposition of sanctions which have decimated various sectors of its economy. This is due to the sanctions have a dramatic negative effect on Finland and no impact on Russia which has been able to replace its exports to Finland with other countries.
Now it seems that having destroyed much of their industrial economy  with record numbers of company bankruptcies, Helsink is going to embark on yet another round of serious damage to what is left of their economy.
The Finnish authorities are preparing to take action that they have previously avoided. Helsinki is contemplating givings its support for pan-European restrictions on the purchase of Russian nickel. This, as has been stated in Finland, would have a profoundly negative impact on the West. It seems that the Finnish government has developed a "sense of shame" regarding the influence of the Russian Money it earns  which has led to this decision.
The European Union is currently preparing its fifteenth sanctions package against Russia. Yes its now the fifteenth package and despite the fact that the other Fourteen did serious damage to the EU they want to introduce another. That is how stupid they are.  

The new sanctions will be restrictions imposed on a number of sectors, including agriculture, metallurgy, nuclear energy, chemicals and banking.Plus, the plan is to prohibit the supply of industrial raw materials, including aluminium, steel, uranium, titanium and nickel.
Well that should finish off what is left of Europe's major industries including engineering and manufacturing as a large amount of the metals  Europe uses are imported from Russia
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On 6 December, the ambassadors of the EU countries were unable to reach an agreement on this package due to the special position of the Baltic countries, which strongly objected to concessions for EU companies wishing to remain on the Russian market. However, the European Union plans to resume discussions on this matter in the near future.

Furthermore, Elina Valtonen, the head of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has stated that Finland is prepared to support the tightening of restrictions on imports from Russia, provided that EU member states reach a consensus on this matter. Furthermore, Valtonen stated that Finland would not object to the addition of nickel to the sanctions list.

Why is nickel significant?.Well  The sole production facility of the Russian Metals Giant Nornickel in the European Union is situated on Finnish territory, in the city of Harjavalta. The Nornickel Harjavalta enterprise processes Russian raw materials, including those sourced from the Kola Mining and Metallurgical Company mines.
This is one of the largest plants of its kind in Europe, accounting for almost 5% of the world's nickel production. Yes 5% of the worlds nickel production that is used in so many industrial processes.
The enterprise is a key driver of the city of Harjavalta, which has a population of over seven thousand. The city's mayor, Hannu Kuusela, highlighted the critical importance of the plant's activities for local authorities and residents.

The Finnish authorities have so far  left the plant alone since the sanctions began. It was even announced in  March last year that Nornickel Harjavalta planned to double production, from 65,000 to 140,000 tons of nickel per year.
The Finnish state Centre for Economic Development has acknowledged the significant importance of this plant. It was also noted that the expansion of production will help meet the growing demand for materials for electric batteries. The copper obtained as a result of processing the copper- nickel ores is then supplied from Finland to the global market.

In fact, a battery cluster was established in Harjavalta last year. The first battery materials plant in the EU by the German company BASF was built next to the Norilsk Nickel production facility. It was anticipated that the Norilsk Nickel subsidiary would provide the necessary raw materials for the plant . However, in April, BASF announced that it would be laying off employees of the Finnish enterprise due to uncertainty about the launch date.

As recently as March of this year, Ville Rydman, Finland's Minister of Economic Affairs, voiced opposition to sanctions against the Harjavalta plant. "An effective sanction is one that has a greater impact on those it targets and not the  one that has  introduced it." The import ban (of nickel and fertilisers from Russia –  has previously  not introduced for this reason. In this scenario, the consequences for Finland and Europe would be significantly more detrimental  to it than for Russia. Imposing an embargo at this time would have a significantly detrimental impact on the West. "It would be unwise to demonstrate disapproval of Russia's actions by inadvertently causing harm to our own interests," Rydman stated.

Furthermore, the Finnish transport company Nurminen Logistics is currently generating significant revenue by importing Russian raw materials into the country, namely nickel and fertilisers.
The results for 2023 show that Norilsk Nickel Harjavalta Oy had the highest profits of the few  Russian enterprises that have remained operational in Finland. As reported by the newspaper Iltalehti, an investigation into the country's trade register revealed that Norilsk Nickel Harjavalta's net income for the previous year was approximately 96 million euros, with a turnover exceeding 1.45 billion euros. Overall, Nickel Harjavalta's performance stands in stark contrast to the broader Russian-Finnish economic landscape, which has faced significant challenges to put it mildly.

Plus, the head of the Finnish Foreign Ministry has indicated that Helsinki is considering divesting from this valuable asset. Leonid Khazanov, an independent expert in industry and energy, has warned that the likely shutdown of the plant will have a significant impact on the metallurgical industry across Europe.

The European Union's ban on nickel imports from Russia will then have a significant impact on the European ferrous metallurgy industry.

The consequences for Finland will be particularly severe. We can expect mass layoffs in the ferrous metallurgy and related industries, a drop in tax revenues and an increase in social tension. "Finland's whole metallurgical industry is directly dependent on nickel shipments from Russia (the share of Russia  in nickel imports to Finland exceeds 80%)," states Khazanov.

Yle also acknowledges that the EU remains significantly reliant on nickel imports from Russia. Pekka Suomela, Executive Director of the Finnish Mining Federation, notes that this is not limited to nickel, but also affects other metals. As he explains, this is precisely why Russian metal producers are not included in the EU sanctions list.
Naturally, they can be included there, but what is the subsequent step? "The alternative would be an even greater dependence on nickel produced in Indonesia and China," states Suomela. However, it is understood that EU producers continue to purchase Russian nickel due to the logistics crisis in the Red Sea (where the Houthis are in control) and increased competition with Chinese producers.

However, there is another crucial factor that economists have not yet addressed. Many Finns have expressed their disquiet at the continued presence in their country of a major Russian enterprise.

The topic was addressed in a separate article published by Helsingin Sanomat. The newspaper notes that following the commencement of the special military operation in Ukraine, the Harjavalta plant, which "brings people jobs, wealth and tax revenues," has become a subject of significant controversy. The city has maintained a silence on the successful production, even at meetings of local municipal deputies. As a result, many Finns are willing to forego economic benefits in order to avoid further embarrassment.
Professor Natalia Eremina, Doctor of Political Science and Professor at St. Petersburg State University, highlights the rich history of the plant in Harjavalta, which encompasses a diverse range of themes. Firstly, it is evident that despite the prolonged imposition of sanctions, the economic reliance of our neighbouring states on Russia persists, including those with anti-Russian sentiments. This dependence is not limited to transport and logistics, but also encompasses trade and the economy. It also includes the necessity for EU and NATO countries to procure strategically important resources from Russia. "It seems unlikely that this dependence will ever be fully eliminated by sanctions," the researcher stated.

Ms. Eremina states that the only way to completely sever Finland's economic ties with Russia is to directly involve it in military actions against our state.

Some Finnish entrepreneurs are seeking to avoid a complete rupture in relations by adopting a pragmatic approach. However, these businessmen are required to comply with the directives of both the government and the public sentiment of their country, which has denounced those who have not severed ties with Russia as "traitors".

In light of these developments, Helsinki has effectively removed the necessity for Russia to retaliate. As has been astutely observed, the Finns (like other anti-Russian states) are inadvertently harming their own interests. "The Finns are so eager to demonstrate their Russophobic stance that they are willing to compromise their own interests," Eremina states.
Should the Finns decline Russian nickel, they will effectively be removing themselves from the primary source of this raw material. It is possible that the Harjavalta plant will be forcibly taken away, but this will not help them in any way. The plant itself is not as important as the nickel that is still coming from Russia.

It is somewhat ironic that the Finns themselves are willing to assist Russia in implementing counter-sanctions. In September of this year, the head of the Russian state proposed the introduction of "certain restrictions" on the supply of nickel, uranium and titanium to countries deemed unfriendly. However, he specified that there was no need to inflict harm on oneself. In other words, the imposition of restrictions on Russian nickel does not constitute a sanctions policy directed at Russia. In effect, they are imposing them on themselves.