FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Germany’s economy risks suffering a severe recession if Russian oil and gas imports are halted under sanctions over Moscow’s offensive against Ukraine, a senior official warned on Monday. German banking lobby.
Europe’s largest economy, Germany is particularly dependent on hydrocarbons from Russia and its banks have echoed the concerns expressed in recent days by big names in the industry about a possible disruption of energy supplies. whether Western sanctions should apply to Russian gas or oil.
Deutsche Bank chairman Christian Sewing, in his capacity as chairman of the German banking federation BDB, said banks expected a sharp slowdown in economic growth this year, around 2%, due of the war in Ukraine.
“The situation would be even worse if imports or deliveries of Russian oil and natural gas were to be interrupted. A major recession in Germany would then be practically inevitable,” he told reporters.
“The question of public support measures for companies and sectors would then become even more urgent,” he added.
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Sunday that the European Union should discuss a ban on the import of Russian gas after Ukrainian and European accusations of Russian military atrocities near Kyiv.
Christian Sewing once again called on the European Central Bank (ECB) to intervene to fight inflation.
According to him, the ECB should soon end its net purchases of assets and send an “urgently needed” signal on its interest rates.
(Report Tom Sims and Frank Siebelt, French version Laetitia Volga, edited by Claude Chendjou)
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