Imports of oil and gas from Russia are falling, but it has long been Germany’s biggest supplier
GERMANY HAD been dragging its heels on a proposed European energy embargo on Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. On May 2nd Christian Lindner, the finance minister, and Robert Habeck, the economy minister, signalled that the government was prepared to support an EU ban on Russian oil imports. German backing enabled the European Commission to announce, on May 4th, that it would propose such an embargo for the end of the year, though the 27 member governments must all agree. Yet for industry-heavy Germany, oil presents a far smaller problem than gas. German politicians say that a sudden ban on Russian gas imports would be unfeasible. How dependent on Russian energy is Germany?
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Atlantis Viewpoint
Germany had been dragging its heels on a proposed European energy embargo on Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. On May 2nd some ministers from the government announced that Germany was prepared to support an EU ban on Russian oil imports. German politicians say that a sudden ban on Russian gas imports would be unfeasible for their heavy industry (an area in which oil presents a far smaller problem than gas). So maybe the question is not "How dependent on Russian energy is Germany?", but "what is Germany (and the EU) going to do?"
The fuel share coming from Russian fields has been reduced from 55% to 35% since the war. Further reductions will be painful. The first problem is that Germany receives all of its gas via pipelines and does not yet have any working terminals to import liquefied natural gas (LNG). Until then, Germany must import LNG from other countries. Secondly, the supply chains of Germany’s industry are vulnerable to both a shortage of gas and to high energy prices. They estimate that a full embargo on Russian energy would cut GDP by 2-6%.
To cap it all, the article from 'The Economist' concludes: "Like other countries in Europe, Germany has not invested enough in diversifying its gas and oil supplies." However, taking advantage of true clean energy sources could bring energy independence to European countries and even lead them to becoming clean electricity and Green Hydrogen exporters!
