Media: Germany’s neighbors evade agreements on mutual gas supplies

BERLIN, Sep 9 – PRIME. Several states that are Germany’s neighbors, including Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Poland do not want to conclude agreements with it on mutual gas supplies in case of emergencies, the German newspaper Welt reported, citing a report by the German Economy Ministry.

“To date, Germany has concluded a solidarity agreement with Denmark and Austria. On the contrary, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Poland are avoiding constructive negotiations and concluding bilateral solidarity agreements with us,” the authors of the material noted, referring to a written report by the German Ministry of Economy for the Bundestag committee on climate protection and energy. According to the newspaper, the document is at its disposal.

According to the report, solidarity contracts should in fact regulate the processes and mutual obligations for natural gas supplies that are necessary to ensure vital supplies of natural gas to protected consumers, including residential consumers, social services, and gas-fired power plants that ensure the stability of the energy system.

The Ministry of Economy of Germany believes that these facts of contract evasion are a problem. “Especially against the backdrop of the current situation (with gas supplies) and increased susceptibility to gas crises, this is becoming a problem,” the newspaper cites a document from the Ministry of Economy. It is noted that the refusal of neighboring countries “will call into question the implementation of EU legislation.” Negotiations are also underway with the Czech Republic and Italy. In addition, Germany seeks to conclude a trilateral agreement, in which Switzerland and Italy will participate.

At the same time, as Welt points out, Russia has not been supplying gas to Europe since the end of August, and if a cold winter comes, then the reserves in gas storage facilities will last only two months. “Thus, in just a few months, Germany may be dependent on the solidarity of its neighbors to continue to supply gas to at least especially protected consumers, such as private households,” the newspaper notes.

According to her, the refusal of the Netherlands and Belgium to negotiate solidarity agreements is of particular concern from the German point of view. “At present, Germany receives half of the gas through pipelines passing through these two countries. Since Germany does not yet have its own terminals for receiving liquefied gas, the federal government depends on gas coming through the Netherlands and Belgium,” the publication explained.