Germany does not want embargo on Russian oil and gas
While Germany is not planning to stop importing Russian oil, gas and coal, this option remains open, Christian Lindner told reporters, according to Reuters.
At this point in time, however, it seems advisable for the sustainability of the sanctions against Vladimir Putin not to take this step ourselves. I do not rule out anything for later this year.
He also noted that he was concerned about the surge in energy prices and that market movements could have negative effects on economic growth and inflation.
Lindner's statement was important in bringing the gas price on the Dutch gas exchange down considerably in afternoon trading after the extreme leap in the morning. The April futures price fell from a high of €320 in the morning to a range of €250-270 per megawatt-hour, before dropping to €225-240, partly on Lindner's statement. It is now at just €236, still up 23% from Friday.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also pushed back against calls to ban Russian oil and gas imports, as part of western sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
In a statement, Scholz cautioned that such a move could put Europe’s energy security at risk, and that energy imports from Russia were currently essential to citizens’ daily lives, The Guardian reported.
Europe has deliberately exempted energy supplies from Russia from sanctions. Supplying Europe with energy for heat generation, mobility, electricity supply and industry cannot be secured in any other way at the moment. It is therefore of essential importance for the provision of public services and the daily lives of our citizens.
On Sunday, US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the US was in talks with European allies about banning imports of Russian oil, to intensify the pressure on Moscow to halt its invasion of Ukraine.
“We are now in very active discussions with our European partners about banning the import of Russian oil to our countries, while of course at the same time maintaining a steady global supply of oil,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC talk show “Meet the Press.”
Instead of boycotting Russian energy, the next round of G7 sanctions against should hit oligarchs who have gotten rich under President Vladimir Putin, Euractiv cited the finance minister as suggesting on Sunday.
“Those who have profited from Putin and stolen the wealth of the Russian people, also through corruption, cannot enjoy their prosperity in our western democracies,” Lindner told ARD television.
Scholz argued that Russian energy was needed until alternatives sources were found.
The federal government has been for months working urgently with its partners in the European Union and beyond to develop alternatives to Russian energy. This cannot be done overnight.
Márton Nagy, economic advisor to Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has made it clear today that "the Hungarian government will not support such a move in any international forum."
Cover photo: Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images
