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PCK refinery in Schwedt (Brandenburg): Plant processes a lot of Russian oil - so far
Photo: MARTIN SCHLICHT / REUTERS
The energy issue hangs over all sanctions efforts by western states against Russia after its war of aggression against Ukraine.
The necessary punitive measures against Moscow against the possible consequences for the economy and private households at home must be weighed up.
After initial reluctance, the German government is now also supporting a possible European oil embargo against Russia.
The dpa news agency learned this at the weekend from EU diplomats in Brussels.
In the most recent preliminary talks on a sixth EU sanctions package against Russia as a reaction to the invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine, Berlin clearly advocated the introduction of an embargo, as dpa learned.
A corresponding decision by the European Union has thus become much more likely, according to EU diplomats.
Only Hungary, Austria and Slovakia as well as Spain, Italy and Greece are considered to be the brakes on the oil embargo.
According to diplomats, countries such as Slovakia and Hungary have so far been against a rapid import ban, mainly because of their great dependence on Russian oil supplies.
The next few days will probably show how the embargo plans will continue.
According to dpa information, the EU Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, wants to present the draft for a new package with Russia sanctions as soon as possible in order to increase the pressure on the government in Moscow because of the war against Ukraine .
According to estimates by the Bruegel think tank, Russian oil worth around 450 million euros was recently imported into the EU every day.
The reason for the German course reversal in the oil embargo is likely to be the recent successes in reducing Germany's energy dependency on Russia.
In recent weeks there has been progress, especially in oil and coal, as the »Second Progress Report on Energy Security« shows.
Reported dependency down
Dependence on Russian oil has fallen from around 35 percent last year to 12 percent.
This means that in 2021 around 35 percent of German oil consumption came from Russia, now only twelve percent.
Dependence on Russian gas fell from 55 percent to about 35 percent.
In the case of coal, the dependency has fallen from 50 percent to around eight percent since the beginning of the year as a result of contract changes.
The EU had introduced an import ban on Russian coal with a transitional period.
There has also been progress with natural gas, but the share of Russian gas in German consumption is still large.
A new law is intended to remedy the gas problem, the design of which took shape over the weekend.
jok/dpa
