Exports from the 18 euro-area states decreased by 13 percent over the first quarter of 2014 compared to the same period of last year, reports have shown.

Data cited by the portal Statista suggest the Ukraine crisis has seriously impacted trade between the Eurozone and Russia.

In addition, the European countries import fewer Russian goods (9% less).

Among all trade partners of the Eurozone, only Russia marks a decline.

Contrary to commerce with Russia, the Eurozone states trade significantly more with other EU states that don't use the euro - Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
Statista explanains this with the fact that the Eurozone satisfies its demand for the goods that it used to import from Russia through this alternative route.

Likelihood for EU-Russian trade recovery has dwindled as the bloc's leaders and the US adopted new sanctions against Moscow over the situation in Ukraine.

It is unclear, though, which companies and businesses will be targeted by the sanctions as the European Commission will not publish a list of sanctions until the end of this month.

Alternative reasons for the decline are the mild beginning of this year, which lowered demand for natural gas imported from Russia, and the sharply lowered economic growth in the country since late 2013.

Nasdaq.com argues that for some countries in the Eurozone this slowdown of trade with Russia is potentially damaging, with Germany's government reporting that the economic growth slowed down due to the crisis between Russia and Ukraine.

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