German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sees no signs of a change of heart among the people of Germany on the issue of sanctions against Russia. The announcement was made on Monday, August 8, in Berlin, by the representative of the German government, Steffen Hebestreit. According to him, Scholz does not see “a lack of support for these measures or a weakening” of the population’s determination.
Clearly, the cuts in Russia’s gas supply “have created problems for all of us,” Hebestreit said, pointing to the various austerity measures planned in Germany for the fall and winter. “But it is also clear that we actively support Ukraine and that we also support the sanctions that we agreed together in the European Union and in the international community,” continued the German government spokesman.
Nord Stream 2 will not be certified
As for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, it has not been certified and will not happen in the future, added Steffen Hebestreit. Scholz ruled out reconsidering that decision, he pointed out.
Three quarters of UGSFs in Germany are more than 80% full
Three-quarters of Germany’s underground gas storage (UGS) facilities are already more than 80% full, Klaus Müller, head of the Federal Grid Agency (Bundesnetzagentur, BNetzA), said in early August. The alarm, he emphasized, is only caused by a few gas storage facilities that were previously in Gazprom’s hands, most notably Rehden in Lower Saxony.
Meanwhile, a team of authors led by German economist Rüdiger Bachmann, who teaches at the University of Notre Dame in the United States, came to the conclusion that Germany could now do completely without supplies from Russia – only from August 2022 to April 2022. 2023 would reduce gas consumption by an additional 25%, or 210 terawatt hours (TWh).
European Commission: Nothing prevents the return of the Siemens turbine from Germany to the Russian Federation
Meanwhile, the European Commission said on Aug. 5 that EU sanctions against Russia do not prevent the delivery of a Siemens turbine to Moscow, which is needed to increase the capacity of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline linking Germany with Russia. To return the turbine to the Russian Federation, only an order from Gazprom is needed, they said in Brussels.
Source: DW
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