The story goes on under the ad Subsequent phases of the contingency plan, if implemented, could include gas containment. Recourse to emergency mechanisms “means that Berlin wants to prepare the markets and also to alert the Kremlin that it is ready for escalation,” said Franka Wolf, a senior analyst at British risk advisory firm Verisk Maplecroft. It also shows that Germany, while reluctant to impose a pan-European embargo on Russian energy supplies, “accepts that the current situation is not feasible or sustainable.” The issue of the direct embargo has divided the European Union, whose Member States buy a quarter of their oil and more than 40 percent of their gas from Russian suppliers. Poland’s new commitment to halt Russian oil imports by the end of the year was particularly significant as it received almost two-thirds of its crude oil imports from Russia last year, according to EU estimates. Only Germany and the Netherlands import more barrels per day from Russia. The story goes on under the ad Meanwhile, Germany’s demand for a reduction in human consumption has stood out due to the absence so far of large-scale efforts to provoke a change in behavior in response to the war. Instead, European leaders have sought alternative suppliers of the same fossil fuels that have flowed from Russia for decades. And in response to rising energy prices, governments are aiming to mitigate the blow to their citizens by cutting taxes and providing subsidies. “Every kilowatt hour is a contribution,” said Robert Habek, Germany’s economy and climate minister and a member of the Greens, explaining on Wednesday how citizens could help maintain supplies and prevent further emergency measures. Comments show how the continent’s largest economy is preparing for the possibility that the Kremlin could hold back on fossil fuels used to heat homes and generate electricity after world leaders’s major economies refused to pay for supplies. in Russian currency. The story goes on under the ad Putin’s ultimatum on the rubles, given last week to “unfriendly” countries, was rejected on Monday by the leaders of the Group of Seven major economies, who issued a joint statement saying the demand was a breach of contract. Moscow had pledged to work out by Thursday the practical arrangements necessary for foreign companies to use its currency. But the parameters of her demands remained unclear. Putin told German Chancellor Olaf Soltz by telephone Wednesday that a new law requiring gas supplies to be paid in rubles would not affect its European contracts, according to the chancellor’s spokesman. The Russian president said the payments could be made in euros to Gazprombank, which would then convert the money into rubles, spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said. He said Scholz did not agree with such a procedure, but asked for written information on how it would work. There were other signs Wednesday that the Kremlin was retreating from an imminent threat of payments. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peshkov said the new rules would not take effect immediately “for purely technological reasons”. The story goes on under the ad Germany’s early warning phase, based on a European Union regulation from 2017, means it will develop a crisis team to monitor gas supplies. Subsequent phases could include the removal of certain areas from the network by the government, as it gives priority to households. Germany relies on Russia for about 40 percent of its gas, most recently down from 55 percent, and 25 percent of its oil, from 35 percent. Klaus Müller, chairman of the German gas regulator Bundesnetzagentur, praised Germany’s move. “It is right that the Minister of Economy issued the ‘early warning,’” he wrote on Twitter. “The aim is to avoid a deterioration in gas supplies to Germany and the EU through savings and markets.” He said the regulator was urging consumers and industry to work together and “prepare for all scenarios”. The government has resisted pressure for a precautionary embargo on Russian energy supplies, as the United States has said, saying an immediate end to imports would wreak havoc on the German economy. The story goes on under the ad The economic prospects are already bleak. A group of economists advising the government on Wednesday cut its growth forecast for the year. Economic production will increase by 1.8% per year compared to last year, instead of 4.6%, predicted the German Council of Economic Experts. Even if gas supplies do not stop, the country’s inflation could reach 6.1% this year, experts said, while the suspension of energy imports from Russia would raise the rate between 7.5 and 9%. “Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine and energy prices are drastically worsening the economic outlook,” they said. Reinhard Huben, a member of Germany’s Free Democratic Party who sits on parliament’s economy and climate committee, said support for Russian energy had proved to be a “grave strategic mistake”. He warned of “serious consequences” for both German companies and citizens, even without immediate cessation of deliveries. Russia’s threats have prompted other European nations to set deadlines for weaning themselves from supplies from the war-torn country. In Poland – a country known for its heavy dependence on fossil fuels and one of Europe’s leading coal producers – government leaders have framed their new commitments as a model for the rest of the continent. The story goes on under the ad In addition to ending Russian oil imports by the end of the year, Poland will be cut off from Russian coal only in April or May, said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. He said gas would also be part of the government’s “disposal” agenda. Morawiecki urged other European countries to act in parallel with Poland and to “move away” from Russian energy supply. Speaking at an oil refinery outside Warsaw, he said energy payments funded Putin’s “war arsenal”, calling Europe’s dependence on Russian supplies “criminal.”
