Germany: Reducing Russian gas supplies to Europe is ‘attack’

LAST UPDATE: 19:19

Reductions in Russian gas supplies to Europe via Nord Stream, recently decided by Moscow, are an “attack” aimed at “spreading chaos in the European energy market,” German Energy, Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck said today. .

“What we saw last week is taking on another dimension. The reduction in gas deliveries via the Nord Stream is an attack on us,” he told industry leaders in Berlin.

This “financial attack” was “deliberate” by Vladimir Putin, he added.

“We have already seen this method several times, with the reduction of gas deliveries to Bulgaria, Poland or Denmark,” the minister said.

“It will spread chaos in the European energy market, causing prices to rise,” Habeck warned.

Russia’s Gazprom group cut deliveries to Europe via the Nord Stream pipeline last week by 40%, then by 33%, citing a technical problem.

But for the German government, this is a “political decision”, intended to be used as a weapon in the confrontation between Moscow and Western countries over the war in Ukraine.

To address this drop in deliveries, Berlin announced on Sunday increased use, by 2024, of the country’s coal-fired power plants.

A bitter decision for this coalition government which has promised to phase out coal by 2030.

“The (gas) tanks are only 60% full and if we enter the winter with half full tanks, and if the gas tap closes, then we are talking about a serious economic crisis in Germany,” said Habek, one of his personalities. German Green Party.

Due to the huge needs of its industry, Germany imports almost 35% of its natural gas from Russia. That was 55 percent before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with Berlin working hard to obtain energy from alternative sources.

SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ