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Eaten Habeck rages on TV about Gazprom's Nord Stream plan - "economic warfare"

2022-08-11T02:57:36.919Z


Eaten Habeck rages on TV about Gazprom's Nord Stream plan - "economic warfare" Created: 08/11/2022 04:47 By: Patricia Huber Gazprom reduces the gas delivery volume through Nord Stream 1 again. Berlin doubts. The prices skyrocket. The latest information on the gas crisis in the news ticker. EU emergency plan within reach: A political agreement is expected. The horror of Putin's actions is great


Eaten Habeck rages on TV about Gazprom's Nord Stream plan - "economic warfare"

Created: 08/11/2022 04:47

By: Patricia Huber

Gazprom reduces the gas delivery volume through Nord Stream 1 again.

Berlin doubts.

The prices skyrocket.

The latest information on the gas crisis in the news ticker.

  • EU emergency plan

    within reach: A

    political agreement

    is expected.

    The horror of Putin's actions is great.

    There is talk of a "dirty game".

  • Habeck's

    economic

    experts make suggestions for

    saving energy

    : Among other things, there is talk of a cold week and car-free Sundays.

  • Habeck rages

    on TV about

    Gazprom:

    After the gas throttling, the Economics Minister speaks of an “economic warfare dispute”

  • This news ticker has ended.

    You can read all the developments on the gas crisis in this news ticker.

Update from July 26, 10:48 a.m .:

Due to the numerous exceptions in the EU’s gas emergency plan, Germany will probably have to save significantly more than other countries this winter.

"If Germany makes more than 15 percent, then there's no shame," said Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) on Tuesday at the sidelines of a special meeting of EU energy ministers in Brussels.

He renewed his criticism of the previous governments: They had "made a strategic mistake" in becoming dependent on Russian gas, which is now affecting all of Central and Eastern Europe.

All in all, the compromise that has now been found is a “reasonably good further step”, which would certainly be followed by others, said Habeck.

At the same time, he expressed concern about the many exceptions that are provided for in the regulation due to pressure from member countries such as Spain or Ireland.

There is concern that the individual countries will keep calculating until the crisis is over.

"Of course that would be terrible," said the minister.

However, some exceptions "make sense in the matter," Habeck said.

He mentioned, for example, deducting the gas consumption for food production so that the EU does not trigger a hunger crisis.

EU emergency plan within reach: Czech minister speaks of Putin's "dirty game"

Update from July 26, 9:54 a.m .:

A gas emergency plan for the EU for this winter is within reach: EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said on Tuesday before a special meeting of EU energy ministers in Brussels that she was expecting a political agreement.

The Czech Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Sikela, whose country currently holds the Council presidency, made a similar statement.

The further Russian gas supply reduction through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline leading to Germany on Monday is proof that President Vladimir Putin "is continuing his dirty game of abuse and blackmail with gas supplies," Sikela said.

The EU must therefore reduce its dependence on Russia as quickly as possible.

The Czech Industry and Trade Minister speaks of Russian gas deliveries as a "dirty game of abuse and blackmail." © IMAGO/Katerina Sulova

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Habeck's economic experts make suggestions for saving gas

Update from July 26, 9:21 a.m .: According to the

Handelsblatt

, the scientific advisory board of the Federal Ministry of Economics has

made proposals for saving gas: The government can set moderate prices for a basic amount of gas that is measured against consumption in 2021 – for every kilowatt hour beyond that consumers would then have to pay the high market price, even if they still have long-term contracts with low prices.

"This would protect households against large loads and at the same time provide incentives for energy savings," quoted the

Handelsblatt

on Tuesday from a letter from the advisory board to Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens).

In addition, the 38 economists propose a "joint reduction of the room temperature in all companies and public buildings for a week" in the event of a gas shortage in winter.

The direct effect is negligible.

But the car-free Sunday during the oil crisis "was burned into the consciousness of an entire generation as a symbol of the joint effort to overcome the crisis," the newspaper quoted from the letter.

According to the report, the Advisory Board warns against overriding price signals in the event of financial relief from the state.

In that case, consumers would no longer have an incentive to save on gas consumption, the

Handelsblatt

quoted as saying .

In addition, it must be made clear that the state cannot compensate for all hardships.

“Our economy has become poorer due to the higher energy prices.

Someone has to bear the losses.”

Habeck rages on TV about Gazprom: "Economic warfare"

Update from July 25, 10:10 p.m .:

The gas failure is the dominant topic of the evening in the news programs.

Robert Habeck commented on the new developments in ARD's "Tagesthemen".

When asked when gas would stop coming from Russia, the visibly pissed Economics Minister replies: "Gazprom will decide that at its own discretion."

Habeck goes on to say that the renewed cut is “not a surprise, although it is annoying that Gazprom puts forward other reasons.

That they don't even have the guts to say, 'We're in an economic war with you,'" said the Economics Minister.

He describes the discussions about the turbine delivery after pipeline maintenance as a “farce”.

According to Habeck, Putin is using “the means he has” to reduce the flow of gas to 20 percent.

Such a scenario, as it has now occurred, has been a "serious threat" since the beginning of the year.

"If anyone now says, 'Oh, we are dependent on Russian gas and Putin could use that' – what have people been doing for the last six months?

We're in a serious situation, it's time we all understood that we finally got rid of the feeling of it's summer - it's not going to be that bad." Habeck is calling on the country to stand together up, according to the motto: "Putin has the gas, but we have the power".

Habeck also found some reassuring words.

Gas will continue to come, the storage facilities will continue to be filled and work is being done to ensure that more gas comes to Germany.

How much it will be and how quickly the storage will fill up remains to be seen.

For the Green politician, however, it is also clear: "We will not have gas in abundance".

Robert Habeck was anything but enthusiastic about Gazprom's Nord Stream plans on TV and found clear words.

©Screenshot / ARD

EU Commission meets for emergency planning

Update from July 25, 8:19 p.m .:

The EU Commission sees the announcements of a further reduction in gas supplies from Russia as evidence of the need for joint European emergency planning.

It was precisely this type of scenario that prompted Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the college to present a proposal for solidarity in saving gas, a spokesman said on Monday evening in Brussels.

This development confirms our own analysis and it is hoped that the Council of Member States will decide on an appropriate response this Tuesday.

Habeck rails against Putin: "Perfidious game"

Update from July 25, 7:33 p.m.:

Economics Minister Robert Habeck has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of a “perfidious game” because of the announced further reduction in gas supplies.

The Green politician told the German Press Agency on Monday: "There are no technical reasons for the delivery cuts.

The turbine is ready for delivery to Russia.” The export documents from Siemens Energy are complete, but Russia refuses to issue the import documents.

"Russia breaks treaties and blames others."

"Putin is playing a perfidious game," said Habeck.

His strategy is transparent.

"He's trying to weaken the huge support for Ukraine and drive a wedge in our society.

In return, it fuels uncertainty and drives up prices.

We oppose this with unity and focused action.

We are taking precautions so that we can get through the winter," said the minister.

Update from July 25, 7:06 p.m .:

According to Siemens, information from the Russian Gazprom group is missing for the export of a turbine repaired in Canada for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.

"The transport of the turbine is prepared and could start immediately," a spokesman for Siemens Energy told the AFP news agency on Monday.

All documents for the export to Russia have been available since the beginning of last week.

“What is missing, however, are the necessary customs documents for importing into Russia.

This information can only be provided by the customer.”

Federal Network Agency reacts to gas cuts by Nord Stream 1: No technical reason

Update from July 25, 6:16 p.m .:

The Federal Network Agency also doubts the reason for the throttling of gas delivery by Nord Stream 1. According to information from those responsible, there is no technical reason for the renewed throttling of the gas delivery volume through the pipeline.

"We have taken note of the announcement," said a spokeswoman for the authority on Monday evening.

The Federal Network Agency is closely monitoring the situation in close cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the gas crisis team.

"According to our information, there is no technical reason for a reduction in deliveries," she said.

Update from July 25, 5:43 p.m.:

The announcement of lower deliveries by Russia has caused the price of natural gas to rise significantly.

On Monday, the futures contract TTF, which is regarded as trend-setting, rose to 175 euros per megawatt hour on the energy exchange in the Netherlands.

That is an increase of 7.7 percent compared to Friday.

Gas thriller: Gazprom cuts delivery through Nord Stream 1 again - Berlin reacts immediately

Update from July 25, 5:16 p.m .:

The federal government reacted with incomprehension to the announced further reduction in gas delivery volumes via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

"According to our information, there is no technical reason for a reduction in deliveries," said a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Economics on Monday.

The Russian energy company Gazprom had previously announced that the delivery volumes would be reduced again significantly to just 20 percent of the total capacity of the pipeline from Wednesday due to the maintenance of a turbine.

Update from July 25, 4:44 p.m .:

The Russian gas company Gazprom continues to reduce deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline.

From July 27 (Wednesday), at 6:00 a.m. CEST, 20 percent or 33 million cubic meters of gas would still flow to Germany through the most important supply line, the company announced on Monday.

The reason was the repair of another turbine, it said.

Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin threatened last week that there could be a further cut in gas supplies via Nord Stream 1 around July 26.

He had referred to turbines used by the Russian energy company.

Kretschmann explains savings goals: "Have it in your own hands"

Update from July 25, 2:46 p.m .:

After the gas crisis summit, Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann was optimistic that a gas emergency in winter can be avoided.

If you save 20 percent of gas consumption, "then we will not have a gas shortage situation," said the Green politician.

"We all have it in our own hands." Kretschmann was also convinced that Baden-Württemberg would not be disadvantaged in the event of a bottleneck.

Turbine drama over soon?

Kremlin spokesman gives hope

Update from July 25, 1:33 p.m .:

It seems as if the end of the turbine crime is finally in sight.

According to Russian information, the required turbine will soon be installed in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for the Russian Presidential Office, said that the turbine would be installed as soon as it was transported back and natural gas would then be delivered to Europe in "appropriate quantities".

The

Handelsblatt reports.

Peskow explained: “The turbine will be installed after all formalities are completed.

[...] And the gas is pumped in the appropriate amounts, the amounts that are technologically possible.” 

The Kremlin also rejected Chancellor Olaf Scholz's criticism that Russia was no longer a reliable energy supplier.

"These statements are in absolute contradiction to reality and the history of the deliveries," Peskov said, according to the Interfax agency.

Russia is not interested in stopping gas supplies to Europe.

"Russia is a responsible gas supplier, and whatever is said by the EU Commission, in European capitals or in the US, Russia has been and remains the country that largely guarantees Europe's energy security," Peskov said.

However, the situation could change if the EU continues to resort to sanctions that ultimately harm it itself.

Gas boss criticizes filling level plans: "We won't get there"

Update from July 25, 12:38 p.m .:

The head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, considers the goal of a gas storage level of 90 or 95 percent by November 1st – as recently requested by Robert Habeck – to be unrealistic.

If it stays that only 40 percent of the delivery capacity flows through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, a maximum of 80 to 85 percent can be achieved at best, said Müller on Monday at a crisis summit of the Baden-Württemberg state government, according to participants.

The filling level is currently 65.9 percent.

He therefore pointed out that the levels in many neighboring countries were lower.

The goal of the federal government and the network agency is to save 20 percent gas in order to prepare for the winter.

“We are currently at about 14 percent savings.

We can't get there in winter without additional effort," said Müller, who was connected via video.

Gas turbine for Nord Stream 1 is stuck in Cologne

Update from July 25, 9:38 a.m .:

The dispute over the turbine for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline continues.

Because the turbine had to be serviced in Canada, the Russian energy supplier Gazprom reduced the amount of gas.

The turbine is now ready for use again, but delivery to the site is apparently difficult.

As reported by

ntv

, the coveted component is said to have been brought from Montreal to Cologne by a logistics company on July 17th.

However, she is now stuck there because the relevant documents for further transport are missing.

Siemens Energy performed the maintenance.

In a statement, they only said: "Of course we want to transport the turbine to its place of use as quickly as possible.

However, the time it takes is not entirely in our hands.” According to insiders, it could still be days or weeks before the turbine is shipped, reports

Reuters.

Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck said in a press statement last Thursday (July 21): "One sometimes gets the impression that Russia no longer wants to take them back." In fact, the government has long been concerned that Russia will use the missing gas turbine as a reason to keep the delivery volume low or to throttle it even more.

Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin recently threatened to further reduce gas supplies - to 20 percent of the daily maximum - if the turbine is not installed again by next week.

Gazprom had also warned of "significant potential risks" in this case.

Gas crisis: Ursula von der Leyen warns critics of the emergency plan

First report from July 25, 9:23 a.m.:

Brussels – EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urges that countries with little dependence on Russian gas supplies also participate in savings efforts.

"Even member states that hardly purchase Russian gas cannot escape the consequences of a possible delivery stop in our internal market," she told the German Press Agency shortly before a special meeting of energy ministers this Tuesday.

The economies in the EU are closely intertwined.

A gas crisis would affect every Member State in one form or another.

"It is therefore important that all member states curb demand, that everyone saves more and shares it with those members who are more affected," added von der Leyen.

Energy solidarity is a basic principle of the European treaties.

Criticism from Spain and Portugal

Shortly before, Spain and Portugal, among others, had criticized a proposal by the EU Commission for a gas emergency plan.

The Portuguese government cannot accept the proposal at all because it is "unsustainable", said the State Secretary for Environment and Energy, João Galamba, in an interview with the newspaper "Público" on Thursday.

"We consume gas out of absolute necessity," he assured.

Already on Wednesday, the Spanish Minister for Ecological Change, Teresa Ribera, complained: "We can't make any sacrifices that we haven't been asked about." lived our relationships.”

Specifically, the EU Commission's plan provides that all EU states voluntarily make all necessary efforts to reduce their gas consumption by at least 15 percent between August 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023.

The comparative value would be the average consumption in the same period of the past five years.

Von der Leyen: Europe must be prepared

In the event of a real gas emergency, it should also be possible to order a reduction in consumption.

According to the EU Commission, inadequate preparation for a Russian delivery freeze could result in a slump in economic output by an average of 0.9 to 1.5 percent.

"In the meantime, Russia is only partially delivering gas or not at all in twelve member states," said von der Leyen of the German Press Agency.

"That's why Europe has to be prepared for the worst case scenario: a complete stop to gas supplies, sooner or later." The faster you act, the more you save - and the safer you are.

The Commission's proposals are the subject of a special meeting of EU energy ministers in Brussels this Tuesday.

Von der Leyen expressed confidence that they would find broad approval.

"I am sure that energy ministers ... are aware of their responsibilities," she said.

It's about creating a safety net for everyone so that you can make it safely through the next two winters.

(dpa/ph)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-08-11

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