Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck said on Sunday that Europe’s largest economy had reduced its share of Russian energy imports to 12 percent for oil, 8 percent for coal and 35 percent for gas. Germany is under strong pressure from Ukraine and other nations in Europe to cut billions of euros in energy imports from Russia, which are helping to fill the coffers of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “All these steps we are taking require a huge joint effort from all stakeholders and also mean costs that are being felt by both the economy and consumers,” Habeck said in a statement. “But it is necessary if we no longer want to be blackmailed by Russia.” The announcement comes as the entire European Union is considering an embargo on Russian oil following a decision to ban Russian coal imports from August. The bloc pays Russia $ 850 million a day for oil and gas, and Germany is one of the top importers of Russian energy. Germany has been able to switch to oil and coal imports from other countries in a relatively short period of time, which means that “the end of dependence on Russian crude oil imports by the end of the summer is realistic,” the Hubeck ministry said. German Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck will appear in Berlin on April 6. (Michael Sohn / The Associated Press)
Weaning Germany from Russian gas is a much bigger challenge. Before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Germany received more than half of its gas imports from Russia. That share has now dropped to 35%, in part due to increased supplies from Norway and the Netherlands, the ministry said. To further reduce Russian imports, Germany plans to accelerate the construction of liquefied natural gas or LNG terminals. The Ministry of Energy and Climate stated that Germany intends to put into operation several floating LNG terminals already this year or next year. This is an ambitious timetable that the ministry acknowledged that “requires a huge commitment from all involved.” Germany has resisted calls for an EU boycott of Russian gas. It also watched with concern last week as Moscow immediately cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria after rejecting Russian demands to pay for gas in rubles. European officials have described Russia’s move as “energy blackmail”. Germany’s central bank said a total shutdown of Russian gas could mean five percentage points of economic output and higher inflation.