Stop Russian oil and gas?
Germany is hesitant about energy sanctions
03/07/2022, 6:12 p.m
Should the West boycott Russian energy supplies? In view of the dramatic reports from Ukraine, calls for a stop to oil, gas and coal imports are also getting louder in Germany. While the government is reluctant, the United States seems to be a few steps ahead.
Especially in times of crisis, political certainties sometimes have a short shelf life. And so it was probably just a snapshot when Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday that Germany would continue to rely on energy imports from Russia. Despite the war in Ukraine, despite Russian aggression. “There is currently no other way of securing Europe’s supply of energy for heat generation, for mobility, for power supply and for industry,” emphasized the Chancellor, who deliberately exempted supplies from sanctions. These are of “essential importance for the services of general interest and daily life” of the Germans.
It is undeniable that Germany’s energy supply in particular is highly dependent on Russia: According to the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, the share of Russian natural gas deliveries in German consumption was recently just over 50 percent, and the Russian share of German oil imports is 34 percent. For hard coal from Russia, the Federal Statistical Office recently put Russia’s contribution at 57 percent.
What damage is Germany willing to accept in order to put a stop to the war plans of Russian President Vladimir Putin? Despite all the dependencies – not only the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj is calling for a stop to Russian energy supplies, calls for a boycott of Russia’s oil, gas and coal are also getting louder in this country. The debate is gaining momentum.
Strack-Zimmermann: It would be consistent
One of the most prominent supporters is the CDU member of the Bundestag, Norbert Röttgen. “We must do everything in our power to support the Ukrainians in their fight against Putin and for freedom,” wrote the foreign policy expert in a guest article in the “Tagesspiegel” published on Sunday. His appeal to the federal government: gas and oil imports from Russia must be stopped “now”. His party colleague and CDU Vice Karin Prien sees it similarly.
The day before, CDU leader Friedrich Merz had made it clear that tightening the punitive measures that would entail Germany’s waiver is currently not being considered. But he also said: “But we are open, if this war continues, if the atrocities against the civilian population should continue, that we would then have to resort to this remedy.”
But it is by no means only Union politicians who want to increase the pressure on Moscow through energy sanctions. The FDP security expert Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann also said: “An import ban for oil and gas is of course being discussed in Berlin and would be consistent so that we don’t indirectly finance Putin’s war with our foreign exchange.” In an interview with the editorial network in Germany, the Liberals criticized the fact that it had come to the point where they had become dependent on Russian energy for decades.
Habeck and Lindner brake
It remains to be seen how Germany will react to the war in Ukraine in the long term in terms of energy supply – to what extent the expansion of renewable sources will be additionally strengthened or the government will secure the supply in other ways, without Russia’s influence. For example, by buying liquefied natural gas (LNG), for which the federal government wants to make 1.5 billion euros available. Economics Minister Robert Habeck also announced that he wanted to set up a national gas reserve.
Habeck does not believe in sanctioning Russian energy imports, at least not at the moment. “I would even speak out against it because we are endangering social peace in the republic,” said the Vice Chancellor last week. Dependence on Russian energy cannot be ended in a few months. The argument for sticking to imports is obvious: not only energy security, but also price stability must be ensured, according to Habeck.
Christian Lindner sees it that way too. “If we do without gas, oil and coal supplies from Russia, it means that prices in Western Europe and in the world will rise dramatically due to the expected shortages,” said the finance minister on Bild TV. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was affected by the events in Ukraine on Sunday evening on ZDF, but also referred to the German dependencies. After all, the government is looking “how to proceed step by step so that we can gradually pull the plug here too”.
Debate also in the US
And so, at the beginning of this week, after twelve days of war in Ukraine, Germany seems to want to hold on to Russia’s energy supplies for the time being. In any case, the federal government will not abruptly abandon all imports. In the meantime, what seems more likely is what not only Baerbock suggested, but also what the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said last week after a meeting of the Foreign Council. Imports will be reduced, Borrell said. “That is our intention. That is what we will do.”
In the USA, however, a renunciation of Russian oil and gas seems far more obvious. There, too, politicians are discussing stricter sanctions against Moscow. While President Joe Biden recently stressed that “nothing can be ruled out” in this regard, Republican and Democratic senators presented a bipartisan bill last Thursday that would ban oil and gas imports from Russia. This is reported, among other things, by the “Washington Post”. According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the United States is discussing possible steps in this direction with its allies.
Even in America, where energy prices have recently risen significantly, as in Germany, people are aware that a boycott of Russian imports would in all likelihood place a financial burden on citizens. However, the US is far less dependent on gas and oil supplies from Russia. Speaking to NBC, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said people in his state of West Virginia felt it was foolish for the country to keep buying the products and giving money to Putin “to use against the Ukrainian people.”