The German Ministry of Economy is not against a ban on Russian gas supplies to the EU

Germany is not against imposing a ban on Russian gas supplies, but it is unlikely that other European countries will agree to this, said Robert Habeck, Vice Chancellor, Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection of Germany. He said it was better to focus on filling gaps in anti-Russian sanctions.

Mr. Habek said that German companies no longer use Russian gas. However, he acknowledged that some countries in Eastern Europe are more dependent on Russian energy resources. He also said that many in Germany are circumventing anti-Russian sanctions. “There are obvious circumventions of sanctions, as well as obvious circumventions by Germany,” the minister said at a press conference in Berlin (quoted by TASS). According to him, products from Germany enter the Russian Federation through third countries, which can be used for military purposes.

German media wrote that Robert Habek’s ministry had prepared a plan to prevent circumvention of anti-Russian sanctions. In particular, it is expected that companies will be allowed to export certain products only if they can reliably confirm the destination.

In September 2022, Germany completely refused gas supplies from Russia. It has succeeded in replacing Russian exports with pipeline gas from Norway and the Netherlands, LNG and coal supplies, Bloomberg reported. The German Institute for Economic Research estimated the process of transformation of the German energy market against the backdrop of sanctions at €100 billion. According to its data, in the coming years, the German government and business spending on innovation will continue to grow.

About the refusal of Germany from Russian energy resources – in the material “Kommersant” “Germany has become a buyer of LNG.”

Laura Keffer