Germany introduces first level of emergency preparedness amid expected gas shutdown

Vice-Chancellor of Germany, and also part-time minister economics and climate issues Robert Habek categorically refused to pay for gas in rubles. Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made the same position. So supreme political The leadership of Germany actually accepted the possibility of cutting off Russian gas supplies.

This fact is confirmed by another statement by Mr. Khabek, in which he announced preparatory measures, including the introduction of an early warning regime for emergency situations. What measures are expected under such a regime is not specified, but the minister hastened to reassure his compatriots that Belgium, France and the Netherlands supply liquefied natural gas to Germany, ensuring the security of supply.


- said the politician.



However, whether it will be possible to completely replace the retiring volumes of natural gas with liquefied gas, Khabek did not specify, adding only that the storage facilities are a quarter full. The share of Russian gas in the German energy balance was more than half, exceeding 50 billion cubic meters per year.

Meanwhile, a group of experts from the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting and the Institute for National Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences came up with a proposal to create a payment unit for settlements with China, Syria, Venezuela, Iran and other friendly countries.

As a justification, experts explain that the imposition of sanctions made it difficult to conduct foreign trade operations, since most of them were carried out through accounts arrested or frozen by Western countries, and payments are made mainly in dollars, which in the current situation have ceased to flow in the same volume. The new currency, according to the initiative group, should be pegged not to the value of the dollar, but to the weighted average price of gold and other precious metals.

Against the backdrop of declining confidence in the dollar, such an initiative looks relevant, moreover, other oil exporting countries are looking for alternative ways to pay for energy resources. In particular, Saudi Arabia and China may reach an agreement on paying for oil in Chinese currency.