Speaking to Julia Chatterley of CNN on Monday, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said Germany would negotiate any new sanctions against Russia with its European Union partners.
“Germany is ready for new sanctions, including an oil embargo,” he said.
The European Union has already agreed to suspend imports of Russian coal as part of the fifth wave of sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. But the bloc has found it much harder to reach a consensus on joining a US-led embargo on Russian oil despite weeks of talks. Hungary again opposed the oil embargo on Monday, Reuters reported.
Lindner said he did not want to speculate on whether some EU member states, such as Hungary, would have to get exemptions or get out of the 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 supplies about 40% of Europe’s natural gas. EU leaders have already pledged to reduce Russian gas imports by 66% this year and completely end 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, then oil. It will take longer for us to be independent of Russian natural gas imports, but we will continue to do so, so that in the end we will be completely independent of Russia.”
Moscow raised its stakes in a tense energy confrontation with Europe last week, cutting off natural gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. State-owned gas giant Gazprom says neither side has agreed to President Vladimir Putin’s request that customers in “hostile” countries open two Gazprombank accounts – one in euros and the other in rubles. make gas payments.
Most of Gazprom’s contracts with its European customers provide for payment in euros or dollars. The Kremlin’s ultimatum on ruble payments is widely seen as a move to strengthen its military chest and strengthen Russia’s currency.
Is Germany next?
German gas distributor Uniper said last week that it would continue to pay for its Russian supplies in euros, but added that he believed it was possible to “convert payments in accordance with the sanctions law”. He said he was looking closely at the issue in close coordination with the German government.
Lindner said he expects German utilities to comply with the terms of their contracts, which require payment in euros or dollars.
“Germany cannot be blackmailed, we know there is a dependence on natural gas from Russia, that’s a reality. We need time to reduce that dependence,” he told CNN. “This is the situation with the treaties, and we are not changing because Putin needs rubles for his military chest.”
Germany has reduced its 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 do without Russian gas in the short term.
“This would have dramatic consequences for our economy,” the statement said.
Germany’s central bank said last week that a sharp shutdown 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 leading economic institutes.
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