Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned yesterday that Russia’s fossil energy imports are “essential” for “the daily lives of citizens” and that for the time being at least the continent’s supply cannot be guaranteed in any other way.
Just when sanctions are under consideration by the US and the EU in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine, Scholz opposes banning Russian oil and gas, maintaining that such a measure would destabilise markets and have a strong impact on the European economy.
“Europe has deliberately exempted energy supplies from Russia from sanctions”, the German Chancellor said in a statement. “At the moment, Europe’s supply of energy for heat generation, mobility, power supply and industry cannot be secured in any other way. It is therefore of essential importance for the provision of public services and the daily lives of our citizens.”
Fears of a possible Western embargo on Russian oil caused oil prices to soar again on Monday.
Germany is among the EU countries most dependent on Russian gas, oil and coal imports. Preparing for the diversification of suppliers, the Berlin government is “working hard with its partners within the EU to develop alternatives to Russian energy”, Scholz said.
Several German government ministers have also spoken out against measures directed at Russian gas.
“I would not advocate an embargo on Russian imports of fossil fuels. I would even oppose it”, said the Economy Minister Robert Habeck.
EU dependency on Russia
The EU imports around 45% of its gas from Russia and many countries are not opposed to an embargo that would serve to deprive Moscow of essential income.
“In 2021, the EU imported 155 billion cubic metres of natural gas from Russia, accounting for around 45% of EU gas imports and close to 40% of its total gas consumption”, the International Energy Agency said.
Despite the country’s clear dependence on Russian gas, the general sentiment among Germans seems to be in favour of the ban, however. According to a poll by the Yougov institute released on Monday by the newspaper Handelsblatt, the majority of Germans support the banning sanction — 54% of respondents say they are in favour, with 30% totally in favour and 24% very favorable.
Also considering the ban, the prestigious German economist Veronika Grimm told the Germany’s Bild newspaper that interrupting Russian gas imports “would be a challenge, but not a disaster”.
Grimm recalled that the gas deposits are currently almost 30% full, which she said was “sufficient for the coming months.” She did admit, however, that come next winter it would be necessary to find new solutions.
Anticipating possible reductions or a complete halt of Russian gas, the think tank Bruegel said the most efficient solution would require demand-side adjustments to reduce dependency on gas, rather than merely replacing Russian gas with imports from another country.
“If Russian gas stops flowing, measures to replace supply won’t be enough. The EU will need to curb demand, implying difficult and costly decisions”, stated Bruegel.
Addressing the US-EU Energy Council on 2 March, Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson highlighted the need to synchronise the EU’s and Ukraine’s energy grids as a potential alternative to Russian dependency.
