Germany is preparing for a sudden end to its Russian gas supplies. Ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the country has been trying to cut ties and end its business relationships with the Russian government. The transition had been moving slowly as the country is said to be reliant on Moscow for gas for at least another two years but as stated by Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck, intense efforts have been made in the past couple of weeks, Reuters reports.
This looming threat has led Germany to avoid furthering its involvement by hesitating on entering the potential EU embargo on Russian commodities. This embargo would most likely involve the Russian-operated refinery in northeast Germany which is currently one of the few remaining Russian oil importers to the country.
Germany has already made steps in preparation for the cut-off recently by allowing Berlin to take control over the state’s energy companies if needed. As of last year, over half of Germany’s imports were Russian gas. As the leading economy and manufacturer in Europe, achieving the ability to perform without Russian products has maintained a priority for German officials.
As discussed with German officials, more and more details of an emergency plan are being formed and released with governmental intentions of providing increased financial support to energy companies and refineries. The fear of increasing prices has led to officials working with banks around the country to help power companies continue their production through this uncertain situation.
The government has discussed taking stakes in other international companies and making changes to plans for gas rations and cuts, but along with intervening at the northeastern Russian refinery, these actions have only been under discussion with nothing official yet.
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