Everything should be over by then.The #EuropeanUnion is leaning towards a ban on imports of #Russian #oil by the end of the year, two EU diplomats say, after talks between the European Commission and EU member states this weekend.#UkraineRussiaWarhttps://t.co/KB3WFNrWyY
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) May 1, 2022
Germany slashes energy reliance on Russia
When Germany does something, they do it thoroughly.
[IsraelTimes] Germany says it has made progress in sharply reducing its reliance on Russian energy, a strategic shift Europe’s biggest economy has embarked on since Russia invaded Ukraine.Russian supplies now make up 12 percent of Germany’s oil imports compared to 35 percent previously, the economy ministry says in a statement.
Coal from Russia has also been slashed to eight percent compared to 45 percent of Germany’s purchases previously.
Dependence on gas remains substantial, but Europe’s biggest economy had also reduced its Russian sources to 35 percent of the total compared to 55 percent before Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
The government had in March laid out plans to halve oil imports from Russia by June and to end coal deliveries by the autumn.
Germany is also expected to be able to largely wean itself off Russian gas in mid-2024.
"All these steps that we have taken require an enormous effect from all players and they also mean costs that are being felt by the economy and consumers," says Economy Minister Robert Habeck.
"But they are necessary if we no longer want to be blackmailed by Russia," he stresses.
The reliance of Europe’s biggest economy on Russian energy has been exposed as an Achilles’ heel as Western allies scramble to penalize Vladimir Putin
...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances...for his attack on Ukraine.
The export giant has since been racing to find alternative energy suppliers to replace Russian contracts.