This is an unprecedented measure at the height of the stakes in terms of energy security for Berlin.

The German state will take temporary control of the German subsidiary of the Russian giant Gazprom, because of its "significance for the supply" of energy, announced Monday, April 4 the Minister of the Economy, Robert Habeck.

The federal network agency will become the administrator of "Gazprom Germania" until September 30, of which Gazprom was the sole owner.

However, the group announced Friday its "withdrawal" from this subsidiary, without immediately indicating a buyer, creating a blur on the future of the entity in the midst of a conflict over Russian gas.

Gazprom's subsidiaries are the operators of major gas and fuel storage infrastructures in Germany.

Gazprom Germania in turn has several subsidiaries in the UK, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.

"The government is doing what is necessary to ensure the security of supply in Germany, and this includes not exposing the energy infrastructure to arbitrary decisions by the Kremlin", explained Robert Habeck during a press conference.

"The voting rights of the owners of Gazprom Germania are transferred to the federal network agency", the Bundesnetzagentur, which "can take all the decisions necessary to guarantee supply", detailed the minister.

Nationalization of Rosneft subsidiaries planned

On Friday, the Russian giant announced in a press release that it had “terminated its participation in Gazprom Germania and all of its assets on March 31” without detailing the new ownership structure.

Berlin, however, says it "knew" of an acquisition of the company by entities of "uncertain origins", which should have been reported to the government, and of a "desire to liquidate" Gazprom Germania.

This "uncertainty over the ownership" of Gazprom Germania and the need to "guarantee the security of supply" of the country's energy prompted the ministry to take this exceptional measure.

According to the German press, Berlin would also consider nationalizing the subsidiaries of the first Russian oil group Rosneft, a key player in the gasoline market as a refinery operator.

With AFP

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