Germany on Wednesday activated the first phase of the emergency plan to guarantee the supply of natural gas, in the context in which there is a threat of stopping the Russian supplies, announced the German Minister of Economy, Robert Habeck, according to AFP.
Robert Habeck told reporters that the first of three stages of the contingency plan involves setting up a crisis team at the Ministry of Economy that will closely monitor the gas supply situation. Robert Habeck said he had taken the move after Moscow authorities said they would pass a law that would require payment in rubles for gas supplies.
The German economy minister stressed that gas supplies are assured for now. “However, we need to increase our precautionary measures and be prepared for escalation by Russia,” Robert Habeck said, according to Agerpres.
Leading German utilities have warned in recent days that they cannot rule out the possibility of supply disruptions after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that Russia would not accept payments for gas in foreign currency, including dollars and euro, and that it will charge only rubles for deliveries of hydrocarbons to ‘unfriendly’ countries, including all the member states of the European Union, the USA and the United Kingdom.
Moscow’s decision has raised concerns in the West, where several countries have said they are unwilling to buy gas and oil if payment is to be made in Russian rubles. The G7 Group, the main industrialized state, has rejected Russia’s request that the exported gas be paid in rubles, the German economy minister said on Monday. Speaking after an online meeting of G7 energy ministers, which he chaired, Habeck said they had agreed that the ruble payment request was “a clear and unilateral breach of existing contracts”.
The payment of rubles in Russian gas means a breach of existing contracts, and if Russia decides to suspend deliveries, the European Union is ready to deal with the decision, European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Paolo Gentiloni, present in Bucharest, also said on Tuesday.