Why Germany intervenes Gazprom Germania: "We are not going to leave energy at the expense of the Kremlin"

• War Germany takes control of the German subsidiary of Gazprom "to protect public security and order"

• Sanctions The EU seeks consensus to "urgently" punish Russia even more

Germany

has removed its energy infrastructure from the clutches of

.

In an unprecedented legal act, the State will take control of Gazprom Germania on Friday, an essential part of the trade, transport and storage of Russian gas in this country.

The objective is multiple and the first is to frustrate the sale of the company by the parent company, the giant

, an opaque operation already underway that set off all the alarms.

The management and voting rights of the company will be temporarily transferred to the

.

"We are not going to leave Germany's energy infrastructure at the expense of the arbitrary decisions of the Kremlin," explained Economy Minister

to justify his decision.

Because it was two Russian companies that, through the back door, were behind the announcement made a few days ago by the Russian giant Gazprom, owner of Gazprom Germania, a company registered in

and head of a diversified conglomerate with 40 entities operating in more than 20 countries in

.

The sequence of events that led Economy to act is conclusive.

Gazprom announced on the 31st by surprise that on April 1, precisely the day that Germany celebrates what are

in Spain , it would end its participation in Gazprom Germania and all its assets, which include subsidiaries in

.

No further details were given and especially the most important.

Who was going to be the new economic and legal owner of this participation.

The lack of information was in itself a violation of the notification requirement under the

The German energy infrastructure was left in limbo.

Gazprom Germania is vital for the supply and storage of Russian gas that reaches Germany and until the beginning of the Russian invasion of

it exceeded 55% of its needs.

Gazprom Germania owns the gas trading company

, which supplies municipal companies, a minority stake in the gas transportation company

, and the gas storage operator

, the largest gas storage facility in Germany.

A fifth of the country's storage capacity is located there.

Astora, exploits 6,000 million cubic meters of underground gas caverns in Germany and Austria.

The alarms went off when the Ministry of Economy received information that pointed to an "indirect acquisition" of Gazprom Germania by the Russian companies

.

The objective then was to prevent that acquisition and the legal instruments contemplate that possibility.

In the case of the exploitation of critical infrastructures, any acquisition by a non-EU investor must be approved by the Ministry of Economy.

And the Ministry is not clear "who is economically and legally behind the two companies."

Add to that the fact that the buyers had ordered the liquidation of Gazprom Germania, before the acquisition was approved.

The liquidation would mean the end of the legal existence of Gazprom Germania, threatened the validity of the contracts and increased the ability of the Kremlin to turn off the gas tap to Germany without this country being able to take legal action.

And it freed Gazprom from what has been a rumor since the war began:

.

Gazprom has been in the crosshairs of community regulators for months for bad practices.

The Russian giant is suspected to have been holding back gas that it could have released to reduce rising prices.

Some sources maintain that last week, the EU antitrust authorities raided its offices in Germany.

The Ministry of Economy then issued the order based on the

, and temporarily granted the role of fiduciary agent to BNA by decree, until the end of September.

"This serves to protect public safety and order and to maintain security of supply. It was an absolutely necessary step," Habeck said.

Security of supply is currently guaranteed, the minister stressed.

"The Federal Network Agency will use the time to put the situation in order."

According to Habeck, the authority is empowered, among other things, to dismiss and reappoint members of the management and to give instructions to the management.

"Exercise of shareholders' voting rights will be excluded."

The RNA has assured that it will assume the role of shareholder as trustee for a transitory period in order to guarantee adequate management.

"We are aware of the responsibility that this task entails to guarantee the supply of gas", explained its president

.

"Our goal will be to ensure that Gazprom Germania is managed in the interests of Germany and Europe. We want to take all necessary measures to continue to ensure security of supply. The business of Gazprom Germania and its subsidiaries must continue in this regard in a controlled manner," he said. .

Germany is in a dilemma with its dependence on Russian gas supplies.

A gas supply boycott threatens to trigger production disruptions in many sectors through complex

, from chemicals and the food industry to steel and glass.

BASF alone represents 4% of the gas consumed in Germany.

The chemical company's steam cracking plant in

would have to close if supplies fell by more than half compared to normal levels.

German Finance Minister

has tried to reassure business by reaffirming in Brussels his rejection of an EU embargo on Russian gas imports, despite mounting pressure as Russian barbarity becomes apparent.

"We are facing a criminal war," Lindner said before talks with his EU colleagues in Brussels.

"It is clear that we must end all economic ties with Russia as soon as possible. We must plan tough sanctions, but

. We would do more harm to ourselves than to them," says the minister.

Habeck said earlier on Monday that he was trying to reduce Russia's indirect economic influence in other parts of the energy industry, saying that next in his sights was Russian oil company

to control the refinery .

German

.

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