Government stands by rejection
Only a third of Germans against Russia’s import ban
3/11/2022 5:08 am
The federal government continues to diligently weigh things down and categorically rules out a freeze on energy imports from Russia. According to a representative survey, half of Germans are in favor of this step, and only a third are against it. Only with the AfD voters does it look different.
While the federal government rejects stopping energy imports from Russia to the EU as a reaction to the war against Ukraine, the majority of the German population agrees. In a survey by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of the German Press Agency, 49 percent of those questioned were more in favor of stopping deliveries of gas, oil or coal. Only 32 percent are against it. 19 percent did not provide any information.
The supporters of an import ban are particularly strong among the Green Party voters with 74 percent. Of the SPD supporters, 57 percent are in favor. They are followed by voters from the CDU/CSU (56 percent), Left (54 percent) and FDP (43 percent). Only among the AfD voters is a minority at 23 percent in favor of cutting off energy supplies from Russia.
The European Union imposed massive sanctions on Russia after invading Ukraine. So far, cutting off the billions in gas, oil and coal supplies has not been one of them. Germany is particularly dependent on Russian energy supplies. Chancellor Olaf Scholz is therefore against an import ban, even if the USA has already taken this step.
However, countries like Poland, Latvia and Lithuania are in favour. They want to deprive the Russian state of its main source of income for financing the war against Ukraine. According to estimates by the Brussels think tank Bruegel, the EU countries currently spend around 420 million dollars (380 million euros) on Russian gas and almost 400 million dollars (362 million euros) on oil from Russia.
The war and the sanctions are now also having an impact on the European economy. CDU boss Friedrich Merz said in the ZDF talk at Maybrit Illner: Prices are rising too quickly, petrol in particular is too expensive. He therefore calls for a reduction in the value added tax for fuel from 19 to seven percent and a reduction in the energy tax.