The situation in Europe after the Russian invasion of Ukraine absorbed, logically, most of the public discussion that the German Ambassador in Athens, Ernst Reichel, had with the journalist George Eugenides, during the second day of the 7th International Delphi Forum.
In an environment of concern for the appropriate response of Europe, but also criticism for the reluctance of Germany, especially regarding the independence from the import of Russian hydrocarbons, Mr. Rachel stressed that the sanctions should affect more the one who suffers from them and not the one who decides them. And in this very parameter he attributed the difficulty in the rapid adoption of unanimous decisions of the “27” regarding the import of energy from Russia.
As he pointed out, it has been said many times by the German government that it wants its energy independence in the medium term, but it is a question of whether this can be achieved in the short term and whether, in addition, it can affect the war scene.
The different “speeds” in the EU, the German ambassador added, are due to the different degree of dependence of the member states on Russian imports, and this applies not only to Germany, but also to countries such as Slovakia. Dependence itself is not the only factor: other European economies, even with less dependence, may have economies that are less resilient to general shocks.
Asked whether Germany had followed Russia’s appeasement policy, especially in the days of Angela Merkel, Mr. Rachel said: “We all know better retrospectively. “Obviously it failed. But if we talk retrospectively, we should not just talk about Germany. And yet it is very debatable that we should not, at the time the decisions were made, make the effort.”
According to the German ambassador, Berlin and personally Chancellor Merkel already had a very clear understanding of the direction in which Russia is moving since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. It was simply decided to maintain a minimum of relationships and understanding.
The debate certainly could not but touch on the issues of Euro-Turkish relations. It is obvious, Mr. Rachel noted, that Turkey is trying to play the role of “intermediary” in the Ukrainian crisis, avoiding sanctions, which is unsatisfactory for a NATO country and creates dissatisfaction. react with Turkish mediation.
Regarding the tensions that Turkey is creating in its immediate vicinity, the German ambassador noted that there is a new attitude of Turkey, which manifested itself before the war and is not an impact of it. He stated that he is optimistic that for this year this attitude of avoiding tensions will remain. However, he hesitated to make predictions for 2023, as, as he said, it is an election year in Turkey and Greece and Tayyip Erdogan is used to creating international tensions to gather his domestic audience.
The head of Germany’s diplomatic mission in our country wanted to amuse the impression of “German resilience” towards its neighbor, noting that there are EU sanctions against Turkey, apparently with the agreement of Germany. “We are now in a different environment in a way, because other important countries have renewed their interest in Turkey.”
Mr. Rachel was also reluctant to make predictions regarding the evolution of energy prices. He estimated, however, that there would be a stronger impetus for renewable energy sources than before the war – and Greece was going to benefit from that as it has the luck and the climate on its side.
Source: Capital
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