A technician checks meters at an underground natural gas storage facility in Germany. Archive photoMOSCOW, May 17.If Germany is left without Russian gas supplies and cannot find a replacement for them, it will face big losses and a cold autumn, German economist Christian Geinitz writes in an article for the Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung. The author noted that the government's course to abandon Russian energy sources implies great difficulties for Germany , since the country is stronger than others in Europe depends on supplies from Russia. Geinitz called LNG an alternative to Russian raw materials, but acknowledged that Berlin is in a difficult position, since it will take time to build a terminal to receive fuel. The economist admitted that Germany did not begin to build it earlier, as it was unprofitable — raw materials from Russia were cheaper. The German authorities can impose an embargo on Russian gas only if they manage to mitigate the consequences of such a decision. Now the country can still do this by filling storage facilities and rationing fuel consumption. The author criticized the country's government for previously existing plans to replace coal-fired power plants with gas and abandon nuclear power plants, as well as expanding its own energy production. Geinitz stressed that if Germany refuses Russian fuel in the fall, its industry will suffer huge losses. First of all, the chemical industry will suffer, which will pull other enterprises with it.Punished with a ruble: Europe in confusion because of Russian gas «Germany is not threatened by a hot autumn, but by a cold one. Companies are forced to adapt to the rationing and distribution of gas by the Federal Network Agency, private consumers to rising prices and colder premises,» the economist warned. In addition In addition, the country is waiting for a wave of bankruptcies and a surge in unemployment. The prosperity of all of Europe is at stake, Geinitz concluded. Germany, like other Western countries, is faced with rising energy prices and a surge in inflation due to the imposition of sanctions against Russia after the start of a special operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine. The measures mainly affected the financial sector and the supply of high-tech products, but calls to reduce dependence on Russian energy resources became louder in Europe, and many brands announced their withdrawal from Russia. The Kremlin called these restrictions an economic war, but noted the readiness for such a development of events. The Bank of Russia takes measures to stabilize the situation on the foreign exchange market; payments for gas supplies to unfriendly countries were transferred to rubles. The government also prepared a plan to counter restrictive measures, which includes about a hundred initiatives. The volume of its funding will be about a trillion rubles.
