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E.on boss Birnbaum: "European solidarity would be gone"
Photo: Roland Weihrauch / picture alliance / dpa
E.on boss Leonhard Birnbaum believes that a stop in the supply of Russian gas is possible at any time.
He told the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" ("FAZ").
Nobody in Germany can seriously answer the question of how long Russian gas will continue to flow to Germany, said Birnbaum.
But the situation is serious: "We have to prepare accordingly," said Birnbaum.
"We have to expect a delivery stop at any time."
It "almost doesn't matter" whether the delivery stop takes place in May or in the fall.
In the event of an emergency, he called for coordinated action in Europe.
According to the manager, the existing emergency plans would have to be adapted to the current situation.
"To do this, we absolutely need better European coordination."
Recent events seem to confirm Birnbaum's concerns.
In the past week, Russia stopped supplying gas to Poland, and shortly thereafter also to Bulgaria - probably in the dispute over the required payment for gas supplies in rubles.
According to the Polish Environment Minister Anna Moskwa, the country prepared for the delivery stop in good time: Poland's gas storage facilities are almost 80 percent full, and she expects 100 percent in autumn.
In addition, both countries now purchase gas from neighboring countries.
In Germany, however, the situation has been different so far: the Federal Republic is much more dependent on Russian gas, and the levels in the gas storage tanks are significantly lower.
In the economy, there is great concern that Russia could stop delivering to Germany.
E.on boss Birnbaum calls for solidarity in Europe in an emergency.
"We should do our best to avoid the same thing happening as with the corona masks and each country only thinking about its own interests," he told the "FAZ".
Because then everyone saves their own storage space, looks to the neighbor and sees that they don't give anything away either.
»So the doors would be closed and then we would suddenly no longer have a European gas market – and European solidarity would be gone.«
jlk/Reuters