In full debate on its energy dependence, the state temporarily took control of the subsidiary of the Russian gas giant to prevent it from falling into hostile hands.
By
A whole symbol. Gazprom Germania, the German subsidiary of the Russian Gazprom gas giant, will temporarily go under the control of the state, announced, Monday, April 4, the Minister of the German economy, Robert Habeck (Greens). In concrete terms, the management of the company will be entrusted to the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur), the administrative authority responsible for the regulation of the gas, electricity, telecommunications and railways, specified Mr. Habeck, who justified this guardianship – recorded until September 30th: “The Government does not require the security of supply in Germany, and this involves not to expose the energy infrastructures to arbitrary decisions of the Kremlin. “
Single shareholder of Gazprom Germania, which exploits important storage and gas transport facilities in Germany and other European countries, such as the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic or Switzerland, Gazprom had announced, the 1 April, that he had withdrawn his assets of his subsidiary. By deciding, three days later, to take control of it, the German government wanted to avoid that it falls into hostile hands, or whether it is downright liquidated.
In Berlin, worries were real. In a statement published Monday afternoon, the German Ministry of the Economy announced “learning” that Gazprom had decided to sell its subsidiary to two Russian companies – JSC Palmary and Gazprom Export Business Services LLC -, “which [it] Do not know clearly behind “and whose intention was to proceed to its” liquidation “. In order to prevent such an issue, the German Government has therefore refused to give its green light to the sale of the company, relying on a law that states that its agreement is necessary for any acquisition of “critical infrastructures. “by investors outside the European Union (EU).
Ambivalences and contradictions
However, the implementation of this legal argument should not lose sight of the eminently political dimension of such a decision. By taking control of Gazprom Germania, the German government responds to those who criticize it to lack firmness with regard to Russia for the sake of preserving its economic interests. From this point of view, the announcement by the Minister of the Economy of the supervision of the German subsidiary of Gazprom, made public on Monday afternoon, is opportunely from offsetting the remarks held by his colleague in charge of finance, the Liberal Christian Lindner, who, a little earlier in the day, had asserted, from Luxembourg, upstream of a meeting with his EU counterparts, that Germany was not ready to do without Russian gas ” in the short term “, explaining that such a renouncement” [Him] would hurt more than Russia “.
You have 49.03% of this article to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.