1. Habeck: Russia uses energy as a weapon


2. Application for weapons aid in the Bundestag


3. Putin threatens supporters of Ukraine with "lightning-fast" blows


4. Meeting of health ministers


5. Israel commemorates the Jews murdered in the Holocaust


6. Karlsruhe examines prisoner remuneration


7. Frankfurt and Leipzig play their first legs in the Europa League semi-finals

1. Habeck: Russia uses energy as a weapon

Philip Eppelsheim

Deputy Editor-in-Chief for News and Politics Online.

  • Follow I follow

According to the Economics Ministry, the gas supply in Germany is not at risk.

An abrupt halt to deliveries would result in a "recession in Germany".

Dependence reduced:

Federal Minister of  Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) is concerned about the stop in Russian gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria.

Russia uses "energy as a weapon," he said.

According to his ministry, the supply in Germany is currently not at risk.

Germany has recently further reduced its dependence on deliveries from Russia.

Russia's share of imports is currently 35 percent.

However, should deliveries stop abruptly, "we would have a recession in Germany".

Threat:

 Germany is Gazprom's most important export country.

According to the Federal Customs Service, Russia delivered 48 billion cubic meters of pipeline gas to Germany in 2021 - and thus 23.7 percent of total exports.

Nevertheless, Kremlin spokesman Peskov threatened that other countries would also not receive gas if they did not pay their bills using the "new system".

"I'm not worried that Germany will be the next country to be cut off from supplies," said Klaus-Dieter Maubach, CEO of the energy group Uniper, the FAZ

Further provocation:

 EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the interruption of gas supplies as "another provocation" by Russia.

Poland and Bulgaria would now be supplied with gas by neighboring countries.

It is now paying off that the EU has invested in the appropriate lines.

The Commission will continue to work on replacing Russian gas with natural gas and LPG from other suppliers.

The expansion of renewable energies and greater energy efficiency could also reduce dependency.

more on the subject

2. Application for weapons aid in the Bundestag

This Thursday, the government factions and the Union opposition want to decide on a comprehensive application to support Ukraine.

Heavy weapons:

 The traffic light coalition and the CDU/CSU jointly call on the federal government to expand its military aid to include the delivery of heavy weapons and complex systems.

"Making this request for a broad majority in the democratic center of the German Bundestag is a strong signal of responsibility for Ukraine and unity against the Russian war of aggression," said Rolf Mützenich (SPD), Katharina Dröge, on Wednesday evening and Britta Haßelmann (Greens), Christian Dürr (FDP), Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) jointly signed the declaration.

Peace and freedom:

 "Germany stands firmly with Ukraine in its struggle for freedom," the statement on the motion, which is titled "Defending Peace and Freedom in Europe - Comprehensive Support for Ukraine," said.

Supporting Ukraine's right to self-defense is important for protecting peace and freedom in Europe and also for finding a diplomatic solution.

"The delivery of military goods is a key aspect here, along with humanitarian and financial support for Ukraine and comprehensive economic and personal sanctions against Russia," emphasized all sides.

The Union faction withdrew its own motion after making changes to the SPD, Greens and FDP paper.