A threat to stability: why Germany opposed the embargo on Russian gas imports

German Vice Chancellor, Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Robert Habek spoke out against a ban on Russian gas imports.

“An immediate gas embargo would endanger social peace in Germany,” he told media group Funke.

“Therefore, we must act prudently, accurately prepare our steps and be able to bring them to the end if we want to harm (Vladimir. -

) Putin.”

At the same time, Habek admitted that the traditional natural gas fields in Germany are "largely exhausted."

“It could help to ramp up production in the short term, with the consequence that it would eventually have to be stopped earlier.

But we cannot solve our problems in this way, ”said the Vice Chancellor.

In addition, Habek does not believe that fracking gas could solve the problem.

“In the North German Plain, we are sitting on a lot of gas that can only be accessed through fracking,” Habeck said.

“It is difficult to do this in accordance with water legislation, as this can have negative consequences for our environment.

There are currently no companies that would like to do this either.”

According to him, it will take "years to launch a new mining method and carry out approval procedures."

Earlier, Habek urged the people of Germany "to contribute to energy savings already now."

“We can become less dependent on Russian imports only if we consider this as a big joint project in which we all participate,” said the Vice Chancellor of Germany.

He also asked the Germans to use trains or bicycles for Easter.

He believes that this "will save the wallet and annoy Putin."

• German Vice Chancellor, Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Robert Habeck

• AP

• © Michael Sohn

Recall, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said earlier in an interview with CNN that Vienna, Berlin and Budapest, as well as the authorities of other EU countries, oppose the embargo on gas supplies from the Russian Federation, since restrictions "should hit Russia harder than the European Union."

“We must now take a more reasonable approach to the issue of sanctions so that Russia suffers from them, but we do not suffer.

I think this is the most important thing.

The European Union has decided to take all possible measures to no longer depend on Russian gas.

And this, of course, wants Austria.

But now it is impossible to do this, it takes time,” he said.

Political context

Recall that on April 11, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev said that against the backdrop of the Europeans' course to abandon Russian energy carriers, the United States is seeking to extract the maximum benefit from the current situation.

“The United States has long been fighting for the energy market in Europe, ready to sink its teeth into it.

However, in recent years, this has been greatly hampered by the green agenda of the Europeans and the bombastic rhetoric associated with it.

Now is the time for America to move in the opposite direction.

And how to raise the dough under the pretext of jointly fighting the “bloody regime” in Russia, supplying the Old World with its dirtiest oil and gas in the world, ”he wrote in his Telegram channel.

After that, on April 13, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, answering a question during a briefing about whether American leader Joe Biden could urge Germany to impose a ban on natural gas imports from Russia, stressed that European partners, including Germany , "to make that decision for themselves, and the president certainly supports their right to do just that."

At the same time, on April 14, Vladimir Putin stated that “the so-called partners from unfriendly countries” admit that they cannot do without Russian energy resources, including natural gas.

“There is simply no reasonable replacement for Europe right now.

Yes, it is possible, but now it is absent, everyone understands this.

There are simply no free volumes on the world market, and supplies from other countries - primarily from the United States - and which can be sent to Europe, will cost consumers many times more - exactly at times, will affect the standard of living of people and the competitiveness of the European economy, ” — said the Russian leader during a meeting on the current situation in the oil and gas sector.

However, according to him, despite this, the Europeans are constantly talking about refusing Russian supplies, "which further destabilize the market and themselves, with their own hands, inflate prices, primarily for their own citizens."

• Russian President Vladimir Putin

• AP

• © Mikhail Klimentyev

Russia, Putin noted, will proceed from the fact that in the foreseeable future, energy supplies to the West will be reduced, and therefore it is necessary to reorient Russian exports "to the fast-growing markets of the South and East."

"Prerequisites for a protracted crisis"

However, as analysts note, the latest statements by the German and Austrian authorities indicate that the EU plans to completely abandon Russian energy resources can hardly be realized in the coming years.

“Even a gradual program of phasing out Russian gas will be extremely painful and will call into question the economic prosperity of Germany, which was largely based on access to energy from the Russian Federation.

Already, the cost of gas for German consumers weakens the basis for further development of the country.

A similar situation is observed in Austria, ”said Alexei Grivach, deputy director general for gas problems of the National Energy Security Fund, in an interview with RT.

According to him, Europe is trying to eliminate the "gas dependence" on the Russian Federation, contrary to economic benefits and without taking into account the interests of its own citizens.

“There is no threat of disruption to Russian supplies.

All this hysteria is absolutely far-fetched.

Gas delivery is carried out in accordance with contractual obligations and is not questioned.

But on the part of Germany and Europe as a whole, we see extreme politicization of statements about plans for a complete rejection of Russian energy resources, ”says Grivach.

From his point of view, the US is working hard to break the Russian-European energy ties.

“However, even Washington was surprised at how far European politicians are willing to go.

Of course, the United States as a whole is impressed by the current situation, but there is also some bewilderment: they did not think that Europe would so quickly reach the ritual suicide of its own economy.

What is happening now in the energy sector of the EU creates the preconditions for a protracted crisis,” says Grivach.

Alexander Frolov, Deputy Director General of the National Energy Institute, also notes that the United States benefits from a break in cooperation between Russia and Europe in the energy sector, since Washington "wants to eliminate a major competitor in the world market in the face of the EU."

“The European Union is trying to play the same significant role in world economic processes as the United States.

Despite the trade partnership between Americans and Europeans, the US is ready to sacrifice the EU economy so that it does not have the opportunity to catch up with them.

Therefore, Washington is promoting the idea of ​​Europe's complete rejection of Russian energy resources, ”Frolov explained in an interview with RT.

Appealing to the population with calls to reduce energy consumption, the leadership of Germany signs its inability to cope with the consequences of the energy crisis, which began in 2021 due to the wrong EU policy in this area, the analyst says.

“Instead of fighting for the well-being of its citizens and trying to eliminate the consequences of the crisis and the problems it caused in the economy, the German leadership chose the easiest way.

Berlin completely unreasonably blamed Moscow for everything, ”he said.

Frolov also recalled that Europe has long been trying to reduce dependence on Russian gas, looking for alternative suppliers, but has not achieved any significant results in this direction.

• GTS in Austria

• globallookpress.com

• © CHROMORANGE / Bilderbox

“Despite the fact that the EU is now doing this more intensively, Europe’s refusal of coal, for example, will lead to a multiple increase in demand for blue fuel for power generation in Germany alone, not to mention other countries of the union,” the expert noted.

With current prices for energy resources in Europe, which are rising against the backdrop of anti-Russian statements by European politicians, long-term threats are being created to the development of the energy sector of the association, says Alexey Grivach.

“Russian gas accounts for about 40% of Europe's energy mix.

The EU can cut all ends, but at what cost?

After all, this will lead to aggravation of problems in the economy generated by the energy crisis, ”the analyst believes.

At the same time, he considers Russia's plans to diversify oil and gas supplies to be promising.

“In the Asia-Pacific region, the demand for energy and gas is growing very fast.

The Russian Federation is already developing this direction of energy exports and will only increase its efforts on this track,” the expert concluded.