—The Russia-owned gas pipeline is not in use after Berlin vowed not to make it operational due to the war in Ukraine.

—The potential plans come as Europe faces an energy crisis after Russia began reducing gas supplies.

Germany is reportedly considering seizing parts of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to allocate for a liquefied natural gas terminal as Europe reels from an energy crisis.

Der Spiegel reported Friday that the economy ministry has discussed expropriating portions of the Russian-owned gas pipeline in German territory, according to Reuters.

The pieces would then be cut off from the rest of the pipeline and repurposed in an LNG terminal on the Baltic Sea. Europe has increasingly turned to LNG imports, especially from the US, as it looks for alternatives to Russian supplies.

Russia’s state-run energy giant Gazprom completed construction of the Nord Stream 2 at the end of 2021 but it has yet to be used. Germany vowed not to let it go into operation after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The potential pipeline seizure comes as Europe faces an energy crisis. Russia has slashed gas flows from a separate pipeline, Nord Stream 1, in recent weeks just as European countries build up inventories ahead of the winter season.

Energy storage in Europe is roughly half full, and the EU is worried that a harsh winter coupled with an already frustrated supply chain for energy will lead to shortages.

On Thursday, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck declared the country is now in the “alarm” phase of its gas emergency plan, signaling that businesses and households need to cut down on consumption and that the government foresees long-term risk of supply shortfalls.

International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol told the Financial Times earlier this week that Europe should prepare for a complete cut-off in Russian gas exports.

Source: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/germany-considers-seizing-parts-russian-162450590.html

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The timing of Moscow’s move to cut gas to Bulgaria and Poland was telling. It came just as the European Union approached a breakthrough on sanctioning Russian oil imports.

Just hours earlier the Polish and German governments had jointly announced a deal to co-operate on oil supplies that would allow Russian imports to be supplanted.

Vice-chancellor Robert Habeck said Germany was “very, very close” to ridding itself of Russian oil entirely, a turnaround from just a week earlier when his government was ruling this out as impossible.

The plan involves unpicking Europe’s tangle of pipelines to link up an alternative supply to the last refinery that imports Russian crude oil in Germany: the PCK refinery in Schwedt, which supplies Berlin and the country’s east.

Instead of receiving oil straight from the Russian heartlands through the Druzhba pipeline, PCK would instead get supplies via the Polish port of Gdansk and the German Baltic port of Rostock, linked by another pipeline.

A problem: the PCK refinery is owned by Russian state-controlled energy company Rosneft. They “won’t even pick up the phone” to requests to make the switch, Habeck said on Wednesday.

Germany coming on board would be a breakthrough for EU efforts to embargo Russian oil imports, which are worth even more than gas
The solution is therefore that Rosneft would become “no longer the operator of the refinery”, Habeck said. How? German media has reported that Berlin is prepared, where necessary, to nationalise such infrastructure.

It appears that Moscow did not like this prospect, and has reacted with punishment for Warsaw and a warning to Berlin, while seizing the initiative and unleashing fresh volatility on to the energy markets to stoke cost-of-living fears. It reminds Germany of Russia’s leverage: that it can damage Germany’s industrial sector at will by cutting the gas.

It’s also an attempt to strong-arm EU countries into paying for gas in roubles, forcing them to undermine their own sanctions and support Russia’s currency. Gazprom’s rationale for the move was that Bulgaria and Poland did not comply with this demand.

Is there division in the ranks?

Rouble accounts
A source close to Gazprom told Bloomberg that four European buyers had already paid in roubles and 10 had opened rouble accounts in preparation, fuelling fevered speculation about which countries were willing to comply. Senior Polish politician Donald Tusk tweeted rumours that Austria, Germany and Hungary were among the culprits.

This was denied by Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer, who suggested it was “Russian propaganda fake news”, briefed deliberately to sow division. “Austria is sticking to the jointly agreed EU sanctions down to every dot and comma,” he wrote.

Division is a years-long Kremlin strategy. Moscow has repeatedly cut or threatened the gas supplies of smaller countries while leaving others untouched in recent decades, a way of demonstrating the costs of defiance and rewards of compliance.

It’s possible that this time the tactic may backfire. Repeatedly during this war, hardball tactics from Moscow have served to unify western countries and achieve the opposite of the intended response, such as with the dark threats of “consequences” that have driven Finland and Sweden further towards joining Nato.

This demonstration that Russian energy cannot be relied upon is firming up once-vague aspirations to reduce dependency.

Two-way costs
In Poland’s case, the move has accelerated an existing plan of the Warsaw government to stop Russian gas imports this year. Poland already opened a liquefied natural gas terminal as part of efforts to reduce dependency, and a new pipeline to Norway is due to open this autumn. The government has said its existing stocks are sufficient to last until then.

Bulgaria is more vulnerable as it relies on Russia for 90 per cent of its gas, a dependency locked in through years of questionable energy infrastructure deals.

But its new coalition government had also already announced plans to end Russian gas imports by next year, helped by a gas connection with Greece that is set to receive supplies from Azerbaijan after July.

Remember: the costs imposed by this sudden upheaval to decades of mutually beneficial energy arrangements are not one-way.

Source: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/russia-s-attempt-to-strong-arm-eu-on-gas-could-backfire-1.4863543

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The next leader of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) will be decided in mid-January, the party announced on Saturday.

The three candidates — Friedrich Merz, Armin Laschet and Norbert Röttgen — agreed to the date for the party congress, CDU general secretary Paul Ziemiak announced on Twitter. It was originally scheduled for December 4 but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Unity in the CDU is important for Germany, particularly in such difficult times,” Ziemiak said. He said the candidates hoped to be able to hold the meeting in person, but that it may take place digitally.

More details will be decided on December 14.

Friedrich Merz: Longstanding Merkel critic

The ex-leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag withdrew from frontline politics in 2009. He made a comeback in 2018 when he joined the CDU leadership race, losing narrowly to AKK. Merz recently quit his post as chairman at BlackRock, the world’s largest investment management firm, to “help the conservative party renew itself.” He appeals to the CDU’s conservative members.

Jens Spahn: Young contender backs Laschet

The 40-year-old surprised political onlookers on February 25, when he stood beside Laschet to support the state premier’s candidacy announcement. Spahn, who is openly gay, is popular in the CDU’s conservative wing. “It is about the future of the country and the future of our party,” Spahn said on his decision to back Laschet.

Armin Laschet: Affable state premier

Laschet, a journalist and former European Parliament member, has headed Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2017. The liberal-conservative is a Merkel supporter — and backed her in the 2015 refugee crisis. Another “Pizza Connection” member, he is known for being able to work with both the FDP and Greens, which may be the most likely coalition setup in the next government.

Norbert Röttgen: Potential Greens ally

Röttgen served as environment minister under Merkel from 2009-2012. He now heads the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee. He designed Germany’s energy transition plan and is seen as someone who could work with the Greens, the party polling second. He was also part of the “Pizza Connection,” a group of CDU and Greens MPs that held meetings in the ’90s and early 2000s.

Author: Rina Goldenberg

2021 elections without Merkel

Merkel led the party from 2000 to 2018, and has led the country as chancellor since 2005. She has announced her intention not to seek a fifth term as chancellor.

Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer took over party leadership in 2018 and had been presented as Merkel’s successor as chancellor candidate. However, she bowed out in February after failing to secure public confidence, leading to the new round of leadership selection.

The next party leader would have a strong chance of being picked to run for chancellor, although that is not automatic.

Germany must hold its next federal election by October 24, 2021.

Popularity boost amid pandemic

The CDU is polling well after its relatively successful handling of the pandemic. However, infection rates are soaring and voters are bracing for a second partial lockdown and a difficult winter.

Former businessman and conservative Merz, 64, is polling better than both Laschet, 59 — who is premier of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and more liberal — and Röttgen, 55, a foreign policy expert. But the party elite favor Laschet.

The CDU is the largest party in the Bundestag and leads Germany in a coalition with its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Social Democrats (SPD).

Merz has accused “parts of the party establishment” of acting to prevent him from becoming leader.  Politics Podcast: Merkel’s Last Dance

The open accusations are unusual for the traditionally disciplined party, prompting current chairwoman Kramp-Karrenbauer to urge the candidates not to engage in “discussions that damage the CDU as a whole,” in comments to Der Spiegel news magazine.

After Saturday’s announcement, Merz said on Twitter that he “very much” welcomed the agreement: “It is a good compromise that we have agreed on today.

Laschet also declared on Twitter that the CDU needs “clarity for the next year.”

“Our joint proposal serves this purpose,” he added.

Röttgen too said he was very pleased “that we have come to a good solution for the federal party congress together.”

Olaf Scholz

Plumbing new depths with each election, the SPD decided to run a realist rather than a radical as their top candidate in 2021. Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, a former mayor of Hamburg, is seen as dry and technocratic. Many in his party say the 62-year-old is unlikely to energize party activists and win their hearts.

Markus Söder

Bavaria’s 53-year-old state premier from the CDU’s more conservative Bavarian sister party, the CSU, has profited in opinion polls from his tough line in the fight against the coronavirus. “Bavaria is strong. Bavaria will grow. Bavaria is solid. Bavaria is safe. Here the world is still in order, and it will stay that way,” the former journalist said at the beginning of his tenure in 2018.

Armin Laschet

Armin Laschet, a staunch supporter of Angela Merkel, heads Germany’s most populous state. Staunch conservatives routinely underestimated the jovial 58-year-old, famous for his belief in integration and compromise. But recently, his liberal non-interventionist instincts have led to him eating his words more than once during the coronavirus crisis.

Jens Spahn

Health Minister Jens Spahn, the Christian Democrats’ rising star, has benefitted from the publicity he gained during the coronavirus pandemic. Openly gay, married, still only 40, with unusually strong English skills, Spahn is a more modern Catholic CDU politician than one could have imagined even a few years ago.

Robert Habeck

50-year-old Robert Habeck, an enthused and passionate speaker, can match the tone and energy of the climate movement in a way many German politicians cannot. But like so many with the gift of the gab, his speeches tend to meander off-topic. Habeck has a Ph.D. in philosophy and was a novelist and children’s author before entering politics almost 20 years ago.

Annalena Baerbock

At not yet 40, Annalena Baerbock has been a Green Party co-chair since 2018. A jurist with a degree in public international law from the London School of Economics, her supporters see her as a safe pair of hands with a better grasp of detail than Habeck. Her opponents point to her lack of governing or ministerial experience and her occasional gaffes in interviews.

Author: Mark Hallam, Rina Goldenberg

aw/nm (dpa, AFP, Reuters, AP)

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-angela-merkels-party-to-decide-her-successor-in-january/a-55461472 

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