(The Epoch Times on May 2, 2022) Germany said it has made progress in getting rid of Russian crude oil and expects to be completely independent of Russian imports by the end of this summer.
Germany has reduced Russia’s share of energy imports to 12 percent of oil, 8 percent of coal and 35 percent of natural gas, German Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck said on Sunday (May 1). Ukraine and some other European countries have been pressuring Germany to cut billions of euros worth of energy fuel imports from Russia.
“All of these steps we’re taking will require a huge concerted effort from all players, which also means the cost (increased) is being felt by both the economy and consumers,” Harbeck said in a statement. “But if we don’t want to These steps are necessary to be blackmailed by Russia again.”
The EU is now considering an oil embargo on Russia after announcing its decision in early April to ban Russian coal imports from August.
Germany has managed to switch to importing oil and coal from other countries in a relatively short period of time, meaning that “reliance on Russian crude oil imports is realistic by the end of the summer,” Harbeck’s department said.
Getting the Germans off Russian gas is a bigger challenge, though.
Before the Russian-Ukrainian war broke out on February 24, more than half of Germany’s natural gas imports came from Russia. That share has now fallen to 35 percent, in part due to increased purchases from Norway and the Netherlands, the German economy and climate ministry said.
To further reduce Russia’s fuel imports, Germany plans to speed up the construction of LNG terminals. Germany is aiming to have several floating LNG terminals operational as early as this year or next, the energy and climate ministry said. It’s a challenging timeline, with the ministry acknowledging “a huge commitment from all involved”.
Germany has no support for EU calls to boycott Russian gas. It is also concerned about another move by Russia, which last week immediately halted gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria after Moscow rejected Russian demands to pay for the gas in rubles. European officials have called the Russian moves “energy blackmail.”
Germany’s central bank said that cutting off Russia’s gas entirely could mean a loss of 5 percentage points in economic output and a rise in inflation.
Responsible editor: Li Qiong#