The Baltic States' Foreign Trade: Increasing Dependency on the EU

The subject of the study is the EU's place in foreign trade of the Baltic states over the past decade. The increasing dependence of the Baltic States on the single internal market of the European Union and its restrictive foreign economic policy is emphasized. The main shift is the diversion of the Baltic states from trade with Russia, gradual during the period under review and swift over the past three years, in favor of the EU, other post-Soviet countries, the United States and energy exporters from the Middle East. This reorientation, being the result of special efforts by official Brussels in order to reduce the mythical risks of so-called dependence on Russia, according to the study, aggravated the costs of the Baltic states' membership in the EU. The loss in competition to European allies is reflected in the deepening negative trade balance. Just as ten years ago, a significant place in imports is played by fossil energy resources, despite the EU subsidies for green transformation projects. The conclusion of the study is that the hypothesis of the formation of a “dependent market economy” as the development model of the Baltic states is confirmed by trade statistics. The Baltic countries are “drifting” under the influence of the “currents” shaped by the EU's economic policy, partly balancing the costs of membership with transfers from the EU budget. Given that today representatives of the Baltic states hold many senior positions in the EU institutions, it can be expected that the problem of dependency will deepen drastically, up to a reform of the EU financial resources system and an increase in the burden of the donor states.