According to the German chancellor, at this stage the supply of the continent cannot be provided otherwise.
Fossil energy imports from Russia are “essential” for the “daily life of citizens” in Europe, and the supply of the continent cannot otherwise be secured at this stage, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday.
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As sanctions on Russian energy in response to the invasion of Ukraine are being discussed by the United States and the European Union, “Europe’s energy supply for heat, mobility, electricity and industry cannot be secured otherwise at this time,” the written statement said. from the chancellor. Fear of a Western embargo on Russian oil sent oil prices skyrocketing again on Monday. “Deliberately,” recalls Olaf Scholz, Europe excluded energy supplies from Russia from the first rounds of sanctions against Moscow, because this measure would destabilize markets and affect the European economy too much.
Germany is among the EU countries particularly dependent on Russian gas, oil and coal imports, and the government is “working hard with its partners in the European Union and beyond to develop alternatives to Russian energy,” says Olaf Scholz. “But it can’t happen overnight,” he says. The EU imports 40% of its gas from Russia, and many countries do not support the embargo, which aims to deprive Moscow of its main income. Several German government ministers have already spoken out against measures against Russian gas.
“We have to be able to hold (sanctions) for a long time,” Annalene Berbock, head of German diplomacy, told ARD television on Sunday. “It is useless if after three weeks we find that there is only a few days of electricity left in Germany, and therefore we must lift these sanctions,” she said. However, according to a poll released on Monday by the daily newspaper Handelsblatt, the majority of Germans support this radical sanction: 54% of those polled say they are in favor of it, according to this Yougov Institute poll, 30% are “totally” favorable and 24% are “rather favorable”.
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Economist Veronica Grimm, one of the most respected in the country, estimated in the daily newspaper Bild that stopping Russian gas imports “would be a problem, but not a disaster.” Currently, gas tanks are almost 30% full, she recalled. “This is enough for the next few months. But next winter we have to take urgent measures that could be organized,” said Veronica Grimm.
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