European Commission’s gas threat against Germany

According to the international group Tasnim news agency, “Berliner Zeitung” newspaper wrote in an article: Importing non-Russian gas has cost Germany a lot as a result of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Therefore, the plan of the Federal Republic is to compensate this loss through higher costs for exports in Europe. This European institution has threatened Germany with legal action. According to the Reuters news agency, both sides are now negotiating with each other about the dispute over the German gas tariff.

In this way, in order to compensate the billions of euros spent on gas substitutes for Russian gas, Germany will tax It imposed a term of neutrality on the sale of gas to its neighboring countries. The fee, which was introduced in October 2022, has since more than tripled. Some governments argue that this violates the EU’s single market rules, which prohibit any tariffs on trade between member states. They hurt to exclude Russian gas by making it more expensive to buy non-Russian gas supplied through Germany.

A European Commission spokesman declined to comment on possible legal action in an interview with Reuters, but said talks with the German government in It is ongoing now. The spokesperson of the commission also said in a press conference: This European body has encouraged Germany to provide a solution that will remove these obstacles and not hinder the efforts of member countries to separate their energy sources from Russian gas.

In response to a question from the Berliner Zeitung, the Federal Ministry of Economics, led by Robert Haubeck, expressed little understanding of the EU’s criticism. He said that this tax is non-discriminatory and other countries have benefited from the fact that Germany is rapidly filling its huge gas reserves. A press spokesman of the German government also said: This action has made a decisive contribution to the security of supply and price stability in Europe. According to him, the German federal government has always focused on the security of short- and medium-term supply in its approach. and long-term for households and industry in Germany and in the framework of solidarity needed by Europe. According to him, the trade of the member states is not limited by the tax, so switching to Russian gas is not justified. Instead, this tax will help ensure trade in the European Union.

Now it remains to be seen what the outcome of the negotiations between the European Union and Germany will be. It is clear that the positions of the two sides are very different and therefore, an agreement could be more difficult than expected.

A commission spokesman did not comment on possible legal action to Reuters, but said that talks with the German government were ongoing. It will be taken now

In the meantime, especially the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary are putting pressure on the Commission to take action against this German tax plan.

With Due to the increase in prices, the European Union Commission is also worried that the affected countries will resort to Russian gas again. Germany’s Ministry of Economic Affairs dismissed these concerns and told Reuters: “Trade between member states will not be restricted by these tariffs, so there is no reason to switch to Russian gas.

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