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Baerbock warns in the gas dispute: "We can't afford it twice" - Putin offers Nord Stream 2

2022-10-03T03:03:54.486Z


Baerbock warns in the gas dispute: "We can't afford it twice" - Putin offers Nord Stream 2 Created: 10/03/2022 04:49 am By: Patricia Huber, Thomas Schmidtutz The renewed suspension of deliveries of Russian gas via Nord Stream 1 is driving the gas price up again. All information about the gas crisis in the news ticker. Putin offers to commission Nord Stream 2 : "We don't build anything for free


Baerbock warns in the gas dispute: "We can't afford it twice" - Putin offers Nord Stream 2

Created: 10/03/2022 04:49 am

By: Patricia Huber, Thomas Schmidtutz

The renewed suspension of deliveries of Russian gas via Nord Stream 1 is driving the gas price up again.

All information about the gas crisis in the news ticker.

  • Putin offers to

    commission

    Nord Stream 2

    : "We don't build anything for free," said the Russian president.

  • Scholz

    is

    optimistic about the winter

    : the government has done its utmost to ensure "that we can enter this winter bravely and courageously," said the Chancellor.

  • Value-added tax reduction

    on gas

    costs the state billions

    : the reduction to seven percent is expensive for the tax authorities.

  • This news ticker has ended.

    All information on the

    gas crisis

    can now be found here.

Update from September 7, 1:02 p.m .:

Russia has threatened to stop supplying oil and gas if energy prices are capped.

Capping prices "would be an absolutely stupid decision," President Vladimir Putin said at the economic forum in Vladivostok on Wednesday.

Russia will "supply nothing at all," he continued, "no gas, no oil, no coal" - if the deliveries are not in the economic interest of the country.

Russia will "not deliver anything outside of the contractual agreements," the Russian head of state continued, addressing the importing contracting countries.

He called on the European states to “come to their senses” and to comply with the agreements.

Russian President Putin is threatening to cut gas and oil supplies if there is a price cap.

© IMAGO/Grigory Sysoev

Putin offers to commission Nord Stream 2

Update from September 7, 11:54 a.m .:

In the midst of the gas dispute with Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed the possibility of commissioning the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

"We don't build anything for free," Putin said on Wednesday at the 7th Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on the Pacific.

"If necessary, please, we will switch on Nord Stream 2." Putin described the accusation that Russia was using gas as a weapon as "nonsense and madness".

The federal government put the approval process for the second gas pipeline on hold in February shortly before the Russian attack on Ukraine.

Scholz is optimistic about the winter

Update from September 7, 11:08 a.m .:

During the general debate in the Bundestag on the federal budget, Chancellor Olaf Scholz took action against the Union and was optimistic about the upcoming winter.

"Our country will surpass itself," said Scholz.

The government has made every effort to ensure “that we can enter this winter bravely and courageously”.

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Putin's gas plan about to end: Russia's blackmail is unlikely to work

In terms of energy policy, the coalition has accepted the challenge of making provisions for the winter and at the same time making the country independent of Russian energy as quickly as possible.

Scholz accused the Union of having blocked and fought the expansion of renewable energies for decades.

That's why the coalition had to make decisions quickly, such as storing and procuring gas to replace the missing supplies from Russia and expanding electricity production by restarting coal-fired power plants.

VAT reduction on gas will cost the state billions

Update from September 7th, 10:32 a.m .:

The temporary reduction in VAT on gas planned by the traffic light will cost the state more than 10 billion euros.

This emerges from a letter from the Federal Ministry of Finance to the Bundestag, which is available to the business

magazine Capital

.

According to the ministry's calculations, the federal, state and local governments will lose a total of 11.2 billion euros in revenue as a result of the tax cut.

The amount relates to the period from October 2022 to March 2024, during which gas consumers have to pay the new gas surcharge.

Originally, the federal government had planned not to levy sales tax on the gas levy of 2.4 cents per kilowatt hour so as not to burden consumers additionally.

However, this is not compatible with the provisions of EU tax law, and the EU Commission rejected an exception.

As an alternative, the sales tax on gas is now to be reduced from 19 to seven percent as long as the levy is levied.

For the first time, Germany exports more electricity to France than vice versa

Update from September 7th, 9.30 a.m .:

In the first half of the year, almost a third of the electricity generated in Germany came from coal-fired power plants.

The proportion of fossil fuels rose by 4.3 points to 31.4 percent compared to the same period last year, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office on Wednesday.

Wind power and photovoltaics also increased significantly, so that all renewable energy sources together accounted for a share of 48.5 percent (first half of 2021: 43.8 percent).

The generation of electricity from expensive gas fell by 2.7 points to a share of 11.7 percent.

Due to the shutdown of three nuclear power plants, the production share of nuclear energy was only 6.0 percent after 12.4 percent a year earlier.

Overall, the amount of electricity produced domestically and fed into the grid rose by 1.3 percent to 263.2 billion kilowatt hours over the year.

Once again, significantly more electricity was exported than imported.

For the first time since statistics began in 1990, Germany exported more electricity to France than was imported in the opposite direction.

Annalena Baerbock warns of new dependence on gas

Update from September 6, 5:01 p.m .:

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) has warned against becoming dependent on autocratic systems when looking for energy suppliers for Germany.

Reliable partners will be needed in the future, said the Greens politician on Tuesday at the Federal Foreign Office at the business day of the heads of German missions abroad under the motto "Business for climate protection and sustainability".

"The principle of hope, with these autocratic governments it won't get that bad, we can't afford that a second time," she added.

The minister did not say which countries Baerbock meant.

Baerbock accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ever more open attempts at blackmail in connection with the halted gas deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

The Kremlin thinks it has the upper hand.

However, the minister emphasized: "We will not engage in this blackmail."

"This principle of hope - it will work out somehow - we paid dearly for that.

We're paying dearly for that now.

And other people are paying for it with their lives," said Baerbock, referring to Germany's dependence on Russian gas.

“In reality, we have never received cheap gas from Russia.

The price may have been cheap at certain moments.

But what led to a low price were just blind dependencies or exchange of infrastructure, which was actually a security risk." Russian gas was "paid for twice or three times with our national security".

Gas price fell again slightly after soaring

Update from September 6, 2:58 p.m .:

After a significant increase at the beginning of the week, the price of European natural gas fell noticeably again on Tuesday.

In the early afternoon, the futures contract TTF for Dutch natural gas cost around 220 euros per megawatt hour.

That was around ten percent or 25 euros less than the day before.

The TTF contract serves as a benchmark for the European price level on the natural gas market.

One reason for the fall in prices is likely to be Europe's possible response to the looming natural gas crisis.

According to an internal discussion paper available to the German Press Agency, the European Commission is examining options for capping gas prices.

On Friday, the EU energy ministers want to discuss various options for curbing the high gas prices.

The TTF price is currently almost three times higher than at the beginning of the year.

The Federal Network Agency is still planning three LNG terminals for the winter

Update from September 6, 1:34 p.m .:

The head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, expects up to three floating terminals to be used for the import of liquefied gas (LNG) in Germany this winter.

In addition to two state LNG terminals, in the preparation of which there are currently no delays, there is also the prospect of commissioning a privately operated terminal in Lubmin in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, said Müller on Tuesday after talks with the Thuringian state government.

Three LNG terminals on the North and Baltic Seas this winter - possibly as early as the turn of the year to 2023 - and a total of six to seven terminals in the coming year would give Germany significant import opportunities, said Müller.

The liquefied gas terminals are important in avoiding a gas shortage.

"But LNG gas is expensive," he added.

Erdogan expects "serious problems" in the EU in winter

Update from September 6, 12:15 p.m .:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed the Western sanctions imposed on Russia for the energy crisis in Europe.

European countries would "reap what they sow," Erdogan said in Ankara on Tuesday.

Putin uses all his means and weapons.

"Unfortunately, natural gas is one of them," said the Turkish head of state.

He assumes that Europe will have "serious problems" this winter.

In his country, however, this does not apply.

Russia continues to make billions in profits from energy exports

Update from September 6, 11:06 a.m .:

Russia continues to earn billions by exporting oil, gas and coal to Germany and other countries.

In the first six months of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia generated revenues of 158 billion euros from exports of fossil fuels due to the sharp rise in prices, wrote the independent and Finland-based research organization Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea ) in a report published on Tuesday.

This is therefore more than Russia is estimated to be spending on the Ukraine war: Crea estimates these war costs at around 100 billion euros.

The export of fossil fuels contributed around 43 billion euros to the Russian state budget and thus helped to finance war crimes in Ukraine.

The EU has significantly reduced its fossil imports from Russia over the past six months, the researchers noted.

Nevertheless, it imported Russian energy worth an estimated 85 billion euros.

Germany remained the main customer among the EU states: According to Crea, Germany imported Russian energy sources for a total of 19 billion euros in the analyzed period - worldwide only China (34.9 billion euros) spent more money on Russian energy.

The Netherlands followed in third place with expenditures of 11.1 billion euros.

Habeck does not expect gas from Nord Stream 1

Update from September 6, 10:03 a.m .:

Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) no longer expects that there will be Russian gas deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline again in the future.

"The fact that Nord Stream 1 will be opened again is not one of the scenarios that I assume," Habeck said on

ZDF

on Monday evening .

Economics Minister Robert Habeck does not expect gas supplies to be resumed through Nord Stream 1. © Kay Nietfeld/dpa/picture alliance

Kremlin 'regrets' Nord Stream 1 delivery stop

Update from September 6, 9:10 a.m .:

According to Russia, gas deliveries via Nord Stream 1 cannot be resumed until further notice due to the sanctions.

"We don't know how the repair work will be carried out because the sanctions prevent it," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday at the economic forum in Vladivostok, according to the Interfax news agency.

The Kremlin states "with regret that the responsibility for the situation lies entirely with the European states and the states that have introduced sanctions against our country".

As a result of the oil leak from a turbine, Peskow spoke of a “potentially dangerous situation for the company”.

For this reason, the turbine - and thus the pipeline - cannot be put back into service without prior repair work.

However, Gazprom remains a reliable gas supplier.

In the event of a gas emergency, protected customers must also expect restrictions

Update from September 5, 4:57 p.m .:

If there is an imminent gas shortage, protected customers such as private households, schools or hospitals must also expect restrictions in the coming winter.

The Federal Network Agency, which is responsible for gas allocation in an emergency, pointed this out on Monday.

“Protected customers do not enjoy absolute protection.

The Federal Network Agency cannot rule out that, in the event of a gas shortage, instructions will also be given to protected customers to reduce gas purchases," the authority said.

In the event of a crisis, protected consumers should therefore forgo the "comfort" portion of their gas purchases.

The use of gas to heat private pools or a sauna, for example, is not protected.

However, that does not mean that those affected have to stop purchasing gas, the authority emphasized.

Kremlin denies responsibility for gas supply freeze

Update from September 5, 1:55 p.m .:

The Kremlin has rejected the blame for the cessation of Russian gas supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and blamed the West for it.

“We see endless attempts to somehow shift the responsibility for what is happening on ourselves, we categorically reject these attempts and insist that the collective West – in this case the EU, Canada and the UK – is to blame for the situation becoming the current one The point has arrived,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the Interfax news agency on Monday.

Peskow emphasized that this was not an "unfounded" claim.

The statement is based on concrete facts about the turbines, their repair and transport, according to the Kremlin spokesman.

He hopes that the last remaining turbine at the Portovaya compressor station can somehow be repaired, Peskov said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov © IMAGO/Vyacheslav Prokofyev

Gas crisis is worrying investors

Update from September 5, 11:18 a.m .:

The renewed stop in the supply of Russian gas via the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline fueled concerns about economic development in Germany.

Unrest is also growing on the financial markets: "The fear of a Lehman-style crisis in the European energy sector is growing," said Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst at the trading house CMC Markets, on Monday.

Iran offers itself as a gas supplier

Update from September 5, 10:31 a.m .:

Iran has offered itself as an energy supplier in connection with the Ukraine crisis and the feared gas shortage in Europe in winter.

"As is well known, we have the necessary gas reserves and the potential and could therefore also cover Europe's needs in this regard," said foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Monday.

In the run-up, however, the Vienna nuclear agreement would have to be reinstated and, above all, all economic US sanctions against Iran would have to be lifted, the spokesman said, according to the Fars news agency.

With the world's second-largest gas reserves, Iran could be an energy supplier for Europe, but observers say it has little scope for gas exports due to domestic gas demand.

Spokesman Kanaani also admitted that there had been technical problems with gas production in recent years due to US sanctions.

In the meantime, however, these have been remedied and Iran no longer has any restrictions. 

Escalation of the gas crisis burdens the Dax

Update from September 5, 10:01 a.m .:

The escalation of the gas crisis had a noticeable impact on the German stock market on Monday.

The Dax lost 2.86 percent in the morning to 12,677.59 points.

On Friday, the great relief after the latest US job market report lifted the leading German index above the 13,000 point mark.

The MDax of medium-sized stocks fell on Monday by 2.35 percent to 24,569.65 points.

The Eurozone leading index EuroStoxx 50 lost 2.3 percent.

Gas supply stop drives price up

First report from September 5, 9.03 a.m .:

Berlin – The renewed stop in the supply of Russian gas has led to a further sharp increase in the gas price.

On Monday morning, the much-noticed future for the megawatt hour of gas on the Dutch stock exchange climbed by a good 30 percent to 279 euros and was still quoted at 10 a.m. at 273 euros.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-10-03

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