In Germany called Russian gas one of the pillars of prosperity of the country
Germany’s economic model, which has relied for decades on Russian gas, lucrative deals with China and U.S. security guarantees, is facing a crisis as those components falter, Baden-Württemberg’s prime minister said
Deliveries of Russian gas at favorable prices for decades have been one of the main components on which the economic well-being of Germany was based, Prime Minister of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg Jem Ozdemir said in an interview with Welt.
“For too long we have been successful. Our economic model relied on three pillars: cheap gas from Russia, lucrative deals with China, and security guarantees from Washington. All three pillars were seriously shaken, Ozdemir said in an interview with the Welt newspaper.
The German minister noted that the model had worked for decades and that Germany had managed to settle in it quite comfortably.
The EU countries may face a shortage of up to 14 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the winter - about 7% of annual demand, Politico reported yesterday, citing a forecast from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
The termination of Russian gas supplies cost the German budget more than €50 billion, Bild wrote with reference to the response of the German Finance Ministry to the request of the Bundestag deputy from the Greens party Robin Wagener.
According to the document, €50.4 billion was allocated for measures to stabilize the situation, which included emergency steps to provide assistance and stabilize the situation in connection with the emerging energy crisis.
In September, the head of the AfD party that won in Saxony-Anhalt, Alice Weidel, demanded to return to Russian gas, as well as restore Nord Streams.
In the same month, the special representative of the President for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries Kirill Dmitriev said that “without Russian gas there is no German industry”.
The EU will completely ban the import of Russian LNG from January 2027, pipeline gas from September 30, 2027. According to the EU Council, the transition period for existing contracts will end within this period. Hungary and Slovakia voted against the ban, continue to import Russian fuel and filed lawsuits in the European Court of Justice in which they challenged the restrictions.
President Vladimir Putin in March allowed the suspension of Russian gas supplies to Europe even before the introduction of new EU restrictions. According to him, it may be more profitable for Russia to shift to other markets. He said he was ready to continue energy cooperation with Europe if EU countries signaled interest.
Press Secretary of the President Dmitry Peskov said that the EU will not have time to fully fill the gas storage before winter, even at the maximum rate of injection. In his opinion, the refusal of cheap Russian gas harms the economy and citizens of Europe.
