Scholz before defense committee - Heil warns of "double crisis" with gas embargo

Created: 05/13/2022Updated: 05/13/2022 07:47

By: Bedrettin Bölükbasi

Scholz speaks to the Defense Committee on Ukraine arms deliveries.

Meanwhile, Heil warns of an economic crisis.

The news ticker.

• Ukraine conflict: The war in Ukraine also concerns Germany.

• Scholz

  in the

  Defense Committee

  : Chancellor Olaf Scholz answers questions about his Ukraine course in the Defense Committee.

• Warning

  of a

  "double crisis"

  : Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil warns of a new economic crisis caused by a unilateral gas embargo.

• This

  news ticker on Germany's reactions to the Ukraine war

  is continuously updated.

Munich - With regard to the Ukraine war, hardly any other topic was discussed as much in Germany as arms deliveries to Ukraine.

The heavy fighting in Ukraine continues and is becoming increasingly violent in the east of the country.

This map shows where the Ukraine war is raging.

In order to be able to defend itself against the troops of Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin, the Ukrainian government demanded heavy weapons - also from Germany.

In a historic go, the Bundestag decided to supply heavy weapons.

In Kyiv, however, it caused outrage that the delivery was only approved around two months after the start of the war and long discussions.

The action taken by the federal government also met with criticism from some quarters in German politics.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) now wants to answer further questions about his government's course in Ukraine.

Germany in the Ukraine war: Scholz in the Defense Committee - Chancellor answers Ukraine questions

Accordingly, on Friday morning

, Scholz will answer questions from the Bundestag's defense committee about his Ukraine policy.

The session will start at 8 a.m.

The occasion is an invitation from the committee chairwoman Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP) in April.

She had vehemently advocated the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine and accused Scholz of hesitation on the issue.

In the meantime, the federal government has given the green light for the provision of decommissioned Gepard anti-aircraft tanks.

Berlin then also announced the delivery of seven Panzerhaubitzen 2000.

Another possible topic of the talks with Scholz could be the planned special fund of 100 billion euros for the Bundeswehr.

Negotiations are underway here with the Union to enable a planned amendment to the Basic Law.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) will answer questions in the defense committee about the federal government's course in Ukraine.

© Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa/archive image

Germany and the Ukraine war: warning of a "double crisis" - Heil skeptical about the gas embargo

A possible gas embargo against Russia is another topic of discussion in the background of the Ukraine crisis.

In the debate, Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) warned of a new economic crisis in Germany.

"A unilateral gas embargo by Germany against Russia, for example, would plunge us into a double crisis, then we would be in stagflation, i.e. in an economic crisis and prices rising even more," Heil told the

.

Stagflation is "the horror of all economists and politicians," he added.

"This must be prevented.

And thank God our economy is still growing,” says Heil.

If the situation “escalates economically”, the federal government will act and, for example, further extend short-time work, the SPD minister said.

The President of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), Peter Adrian, also warned of the effects of a possible stop to gas supplies from Russia.

"The federal government must do everything possible to ensure security in the energy supply in Germany," Adrian told the

.

"Because a failure of Russian gas supplies would not only hit the energy-intensive industry hard," emphasized the DIHK President.