Refusing to pay their bill in roubles, as demanded by the Kremlin, the two countries are getting organized for the impending showdown.
Germany and Austria are preparing for the risk of a stoppage of Russian gas deliveries leading to possible shortages, and on Wednesday activated a three-step alert system to manage their supply as closely as possible. The two countries are organizing for the standoff that is looming if Russia decides to no longer honor the gas contracts of countries that refuse to pay their bills in rubles, as demanded by the Kremlin in response to Western sanctions.
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However, the measure is not expected to come into effect immediately. German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit indeed indicated that Vladimir Putin had assured Olaf Scholz that payments from Europe next month “would continue to be in euros and transferred as usual to Gazprom Bank, which is not subject to sanctions”, and that she would take care of the conversion into rubles. Steffen Hebestreit added that President Putin had pointed out that “nothing would change for the European contractual partners” when the new payment system demanded by Moscow will come into effect on April 1. “Chancellor Scholz did not agree to this procedure but requested information in writing to better understand it”a souligné Hebestreit. “What the G7 agreed remains: energy deliveries will be paid exclusively in euros or dollars, as indicated in the contracts”, he assured. The Kremlin had indicated earlier in the day that this process would be done gradually. “We’re not talking about delivering tomorrow and getting paid in the evening. No, it’s a longer process, technically“, had underlined Dimitri Peskov the spokesman of the Kremlin.
Despite these reassuring remarks, Vienna and Berlin have triggered the first level of an emergency plan which has three. For Austria, this is “guarantee a quick reactionin the event of a halt in deliveries, according to Chancellor Karl Nehammer. In Germany, acrisis unitis now in place, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said at a press conference. Nevertheless “security of supply“is at this stage guaranteed in Germany and the reserves filled to 25%, he specified, insisting on the character”preventiveof the activated device. “Gas and oil are currently arriving as ordered“, detailed Robert Habeck.
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Hospitals and priority public services
At the first level of the plan says “early warning», gas suppliers and operators of gas pipelines are «required to regularly assess the situationand inform the government, the ministry said. But the state does not intervene yet. It is only at the third level that the state would take steps to “regulate» distribution and define the volumes assigned as a priority to each sector.
In the event of a shortage, exceptional status is provided for households and certain essential players (public services, hospitals, etc.) and their supply, particularly for heating, is guaranteed. Businesses, on the other hand, may experience rationing.
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The G7 countries and the EU have called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s request unacceptable. “We will not accept breach of delivery contracts“, reiterated Robert Habeck on Wednesday. Failure to comply with this requirement runs the risk of a unilateral interruption of gas supplies, the scenario that Europe, dependent on Russian hydrocarbons, has been trying to avoid at all costs since the start of the war in Ukraine. On Thursday, the Russian government, the Central Bank and the Russian gas giant Gazprom are due to present a report on the establishment of the ruble payment system.
German dependency
Berlin, which supplied more than 55% from Russia before the war, has already reduced this share to 40% and is stepping up its efforts to find other suppliers. But Germany does not plan to be able to do without Russian gas before mid-2024. The German government will in particular accelerate the construction of LNG terminals with a view to importing liquefied gas. Renounce gas or oil deliveries from Russia”overnight» would amount to «plunge our country and all of Europe into recession“Warned German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on March 23. “Hundreds of thousands of jobs would be threatened. Entire industrial sectors would be in troublehe warned of calls for an embargo on Russian energy imports.
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The German foreign trade federation BGA is also afraid of “graves perturbationsIn the event of an immediate halt to deliveries, its president Dirk Jandura told the Rheinische Post newspaper on Wednesday. “A stoppage of deliveries cannot be compensated in the short term“, he warned. With a view to next winter, a law passed on Friday now obliges gas suppliers to gradually fill their tanks up to 90% by December to ensure supply.
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