“Germany is ready for new sanctions, including an oil embargo,” he said. The European Union has already agreed to phase out Russian coal imports as part of the fifth wave of sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. However, the bloc found it much more difficult to reach a consensus on a US-led embargo on Russian oil, despite weeks of talks. Hungary reiterated its opposition to an oil embargo again on Monday, Reuters reported. Lindner said he did not want to speculate on whether some EU member states, such as Hungary, should make exemptions or block an oil embargo. “I can assure you that Germany is ready to reduce oil imports, we know that others are carefully considering this issue,” he added. Last year, Russia accounted for about 27% of EU oil imports. It also supplied about 40% of Europe’s gas. EU leaders have already promised to cut Russian gas imports by 66% this year and break the bloc ‘s dependence by 2027. “We are prepared to be less dependent on Russian energy imports,” Lindner said. “We can reduce imports, starting with coal and then oil. It will take more time to be independent of Russian gas imports, but we will continue to do so in the end we will be completely independent of Russia.” Moscow has stepped up its stance in a tense energy confrontation with Europe last week, cutting off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. State-owned gas giant Gazprom says no country has agreed to President Vladimir Putin’s demand that customers in “unfriendly” countries open two accounts with Gazprombank – one in euros and the other in rubles, of which payments are made for gas. The vast majority of Gazprom’s contracts with its European customers provide for payment in euros or dollars. The Kremlin ultimatum on ruble payments is widely seen as a move to strengthen the breast of war and strengthen the Russian currency.
Is Germany next?
German gas distributor Uniper said last week it would continue to pay for Russian supplies in euros, but added that it believed a “payment conversion under sanctions law” was possible. He said he was looking into the matter carefully in close coordination with the German government. Lindner said he expects German utilities to abide by the terms of their contracts, which require payment in euros or dollars. “Germany can not be blackmailed, we know there is a dependence on gas from Russia, it is a reality. We need time to reduce this dependence,” he told CNN. “This is the state of contracts and we are not changing because Putin needs rubles for his war chest.” Germany reduced Russian gas consumption to 35% of imports from 55% before the war in Ukraine, but says it must continue to buy from Moscow at least until next year to avoid a deep recession. Uniper said it could not cope without Russian gas in the short term. “This would have dramatic consequences for our economy,” she said in a statement. Germany’s central bank said last week that a sharp cut would push the economy into a deep recession. About 550,000 jobs and 6.5% of annual economic output could be lost this year and next, according to an analysis by five of the country’s top financial institutions.
