Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, in an interview with The New York Times, said that the political and economic isolation of Russia in the long term is impossible, and the prosperity of the European Union, including Germany, will always depend on dialogue with the Russian side.

“You can’t isolate a country like Russia politically or economically in the long run,” Schroeder said.

- German industry needs raw materials that Russia has.

And this is not only oil and gas, but also rare earth elements.

And such raw materials cannot simply be replaced.

According to the German politician, after the completion of the special military operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, Germany and the rest of Europe "will have to do business with Russia again."

“We always do this,” the ex-chancellor said, recalling that since the 1960s, cooperation with the USSR and subsequently with Russia has been “continuous”, including in the gas sector.

At the same time, according to him, even "during the most difficult periods of the Cold War, there were no problems."

Schroeder expressed confidence that now, no matter what happens, Russian gas and oil will continue to flow to European consumers.

Therefore, the German government should not impose an embargo on energy resources from Russia, he believes.

“My advice is to think about what an export-dependent economy can and can no longer handle,” Schroeder said.

In turn, the head of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), Martin Wansleben, explained in an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio that, in his opinion, it would be rational from an economic point of view and desirable from a political point of view “not to act as if there is no no future."

“There is no point in imposing sanctions that hit harder not on their addressee, but on the one who introduces them,” Wansleben emphasized.

In particular, an embargo on Russian gas would be a disaster for Germany, he said.

  • Gas pipes in Germany

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  • © Bernd Settnik/picture alliance

“Based on everything we know and everything that the government and relevant industries are analyzing, a gas embargo in the current situation would be a real disaster.

It would surpass in consequences everything that we have experienced before, ”Wansleben is sure.

He recalled that the bulk of gas is used in Germany not for heating and hot water, but for industry in the chemical, steel and pharmaceutical industries.

“And if you look at what goods are produced by the chemical industry, you don’t need to be a big expert to understand: if the German chemical industry stops, the gears will stop for a long time not only in Germany, but throughout Europe.

This means that the economy will not function and the econometric forecasts of economic institutions will not work,” said the head of DIHK.

European initiatives

Recall that following the informal EU summit in Versailles, which was held on March 10 and 11, the leaders of the states and governments of the European Union decided to phase out dependence on energy imports from Russia as soon as possible.

This was stated in the corresponding press release of the European Commission (EC). 

On March 23, a document was published with the EC proposals for solving problems in the gas market.

In particular, an initiative was put forward regarding the partnership of the European Union with third countries for joint purchases of blue fuel “at the EU level”, which, according to Brussels, could “lead to lower prices”.

At the same time, the EC stressed that for this they are ready to create a joint negotiating group under their leadership, which can conduct a dialogue with suppliers not only on gas, but also on other energy resources.

However, Brussels acknowledged that, given the "diversity of situations" prevailing in the EU member states in terms of their energy and market structures, "there is no one simple way to cope with the problem of high electricity prices."

Nevertheless, on April 8, the press service of the Council of Europe announced the introduction of the fifth EU sanctions package against Russia from August 2022, which includes an embargo on the supply of coal and other solid fossil fuels to the European Union from the Russian Federation.

Later, on April 22, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, in an interview with journalists from the European alliance of news publications LENA, said that proposals were also being discussed in the EU to limit the supply of Russian oil and gas.

However, as Borrell said, EU countries still cannot reach a consensus on this issue.

In addition, the head of European diplomacy said that a number of EU countries oppose the embargo on energy resources from Russia.

"In a Russophobic frenzy"

As noted by Vladimir Olenchenko, senior researcher at the Center for European Studies at IMEMO RAS, the current leadership of Germany and the EU are taking extremely rash and dangerous steps for their own population to reduce the use of Russian energy resources.

“There is inconsistency and lack of depth in their measures.

Such decisions are made by moralists who do not understand how production chains work.

Europe should rely on its experience of successful cooperation with Russia in many areas.

But in the EU, we are seeing virtually suicidal steps contrary to all common sense and enormous damage to our economy, ”he said in an interview with RT.

According to Olenchenko, the words of Gerhard Schroeder and Martin Wansleben sound in unison with the words of many German businessmen and public figures who advocate maintaining and building ties with Russia.

“The statements of the ex-chancellor of Germany and the head of DIHK are more than timely, given the pace at which anti-Russian measures are being taken in Europe.

Their words reflect the reality that the current leadership of the EU and Germany does not think about in a Russophobic frenzy.

Schroeder, in particular, quite rightly noted that Russia has never let down its European partners with gas supplies, ”the expert said.

  • Bundestag

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  • © Hans-Peter Merten

According to Olenchenko, Europe will face problems not only in the energy sector, but also in other sectors of the economy, if Brussels chooses the path of a complete severance of relations with Russia.

“There are a large number of global problems in the world that can only be solved and regulated collectively.

And attempts to create barriers in relations with the Russian Federation, in the first place, hinder the solution of these difficulties.

And the aggravation of such problems affects all countries,” the analyst believes.

Olenchenko believes that Schroeder's forecast about the restoration of ties between Germany and other European countries with the Russian Federation after the special operation in Ukraine is "extremely realistic."

“The likelihood that this will happen is very high.

Politicians in Europe will have to think about how to build long-term relations with Russia, get out of the sanctions frenzy in order to save their economy from complete collapse.

Moreover, in Brussels and Berlin there is an understanding of what parallels can be used to increase cooperation with Moscow, ”the expert noted.

In turn, the president of the Russian Association for Baltic Studies, Doctor of Economics, Professor Nikolai Mezhevich said that by declaring restrictions on Russia, Europe "leads to the slaughter, first of all, the German economy."

“Brussels is making enormous efforts to destroy the model of successful cooperation between the EU countries and the Russian Federation.

The German government is running painfully in search of adequacy, realizing that Germany will suffer first of all, ”the analyst said in a commentary to RT.

“And although Berlin has already spoken about the extremely negative consequences in the event of an embargo on Russian energy, it nevertheless agreed under pressure to ban the supply of Russian coal,” Mezhevich added.

The expert believes that the words of the head of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry, who called the probable embargo on Russian gas in Germany a "catastrophe", are fair.

“If Brussels and Berlin nevertheless introduce such a ban, it will result in the collapse of the German economy.

First, the metallurgical and chemical industries in Germany will stop, the energy industry will stop, then mechanical engineering, then the food industry will crumble.

And then the same processes will start throughout the EU,” concluded Mezhevich.