“Many countries have joined these sanctions, even if it inevitably entails economic costs for ourselves.
We are implementing a very ambitious policy to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel imports from Russia.
This summer, we will stop importing Russian coal, by the end of the year we will stop Russian oil, and we will drastically reduce gas imports from Russia,” Scholz said.
On April 8, the European Union adopted the fifth package of anti-Russian sanctions in connection with the special operation of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine.
In accordance with it, from August 2022, the EU introduces a ban on the import of coal and other solid fossil fuels from Russia.
In turn, OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo noted earlier that it is almost impossible to replace oil exports from Russia to the European Union.
As the newspaper Handelsblatt wrote, the EU's plans to abandon the purchase of Russian oil carry great risks for European countries, and the German authorities do not have enough alternative energy sources.
Existing proposals do not provide the same quality of oil, the publication reported.