Brussels, Berlin Germany aroused the suspicions of its European partners with its offensive global campaign for additional gas supplies. “If the Germans go it alone, that will jeopardize European solidarity,” criticized a high-ranking representative of a member state.
Another diplomat emphasized: “It makes little sense if the EU countries that are dependent on gas are fighting among themselves on the world market for the few available batches and thus driving up prices even higher.” It would be more sensible to “buy gas with concentrated EU to set buyer power”.
The triggers for the criticism are the visits by Economics Minister Robert Habeck to Qatar, Norway and the USA, where he negotiated additional gas supplies.
At the EU summit on Thursday and Friday, the heads of state and government want to discuss the issue.
In a draft of the final declaration, which is available to the Handelsblatt, they emphasize that the member states and the EU Commission want to work closely together in the future in order to jointly purchase natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen.
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The federal government is trying to refute the criticism. Plans for European cooperation in purchasing are “positive”, said a top official in Berlin. But you have to be realistic, the amount of gas available is limited and will not increase if the Europeans act together.
Criticism of the German approach
The photo will presumably hang after Robert Habeck. It shows the German economy minister and Mohammed Al Thani, Qatar’s minister of trade and industry, in Doha on Sunday. Habeck bows very low in greeting to the minister in the traditional robe, the thawb.
A little too deep, many observers think. But Habeck is not too bad for the overly friendly gesture. Because Germany needs gas. The minister wants to help ensure that it is delivered very soon. Habeck doesn’t seem to care about the rest of the EU at the moment, at least that’s how his critics see it.
The shopping spree of the Economy Minister, who was in Qatar at the weekend and in Norway and the USA in the weeks before, is causing a very bad mood among the partners in the EU. There is concern that Berlin will fall into energy nationalism for fear of bottlenecks.
According to information from the Handelsblatt, several commissioners vented their anger at German politics at a meeting of the EU Commission on Monday. In Brussels, comparisons are already being made with the first phase of the corona crisis, when the member states fell into national selfishness and fought each other for protective clothing, masks and fans.
On a shopping spree: Robert Habeck with Qatar’s Minister for Trade and Industry, Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Kasim al-Abdullah Al Thani.
(Photo: dpa)
Smaller countries, in particular, fear being crushed if everyone acts on their own account. This also makes little sense from an economic point of view: it increases price pressure, much to the delight of Qatar, but to the chagrin of European consumers.
The federal government is trying to refute the criticism. According to a top official in Berlin, plans for European cooperation in the purchase of energy resources are “positive”. But you have to be realistic, the amount of gas available is limited and will not increase even if the Europeans act together. In addition, it is primarily private companies that make purchasing decisions on the gas market, rather than governments.
At the EU summit on Thursday and Friday, the heads of state and government want to discuss the issue. In a draft of the conclusions, which is available to the Handelsblatt, they emphasize that the Member States and the Commission want to work together to come to a joint purchase of natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen.
The EU Commission is already making concrete plans for this. The Brussels authority is offering to set up a “task force” in which utilities and member states can also have a say. This group is to coordinate purchasing and thereby contribute to lower prices. “We must prevent EU countries from bidding on the same offers against each other,” said a senior Commission official.
It is also about making optimal use of the existing infrastructure. Because the LNG landing capacities in Europe are limited. Spain has many suitable ports, but the gas network there is poorly connected to the other networks in the EU.
The task force aims to ensure that such obstacles do not lead to shortages. The Europeans should not fight over the few available mobile regasification systems, but use them in a coordinated manner. These facilities can replace terminals, i.e. direct the LNG from tankers to pipelines on land.
In the corona crisis, the Europeans were able to pull themselves together after an initial argument and decide to jointly procure vaccines. Such an approach would also now be the “optimal strategy,” says Guntram Wolff, director of the Brussels think tank Bruegel.
However, that would require “a fully harmonized energy market”, including a central distribution of the jointly purchased gas volumes. But Europe is still a long way from that. “In this respect it is good that Germany is now developing alternative gas sources in order to be less dependent on Russia.”
Italy urges close cooperation
Italy is one of the EU countries that advocate closely coordinated behavior. Prime Minister Mario Draghi, together with countries such as Greece, Spain and Portugal, is pushing in Brussels to buy energy together in the future and also to store gas in Europe. The southern countries also have an upper limit on the import price of gas in mind. “Common stockpiles make it possible for us to protect each other in the event of individual shocks,” Draghi said at a meeting of southerners in Rome last week.
In a parliamentary speech this Wednesday, Draghi went even further: “We have to come to a real joint management of the energy market,” explained the 74-year-old. The creation of a European price cap for gas is at the center of his proposal, which he sent to the EU Commission.
“We also want to remove the link between gas and electricity prices,” announced Draghi. He hopes that the heads of state and government will make “ambitious decisions” that can be “quickly implemented operationally”. Official criticism of Habeck’s journey is reserved in Rome. This is also due to the fact that Italy’s foreign minister recently left for Qatar on a similar mission: on March 5, Luigi di Maio flew to the rulers of Doha and announced an “expansion of the energy partnership” with the desert state.
France finds itself in a difficult role
In France, too, there is dissatisfaction with Germany’s pronounced courtship for additional gas supplies. However, France finds itself in a difficult position: As the current holder of the EU Council Presidency, Emmanuel Macron has to act cautiously and strive for a consensus among the member states. At the same time, a great lack of understanding of German energy policy has been noticeable in Paris for some time. France relies heavily on nuclear energy, the proportion of gas from Russia is comparatively small.
From Élysée circles it is said that one naturally understands that some countries are more dependent on Russian energy imports. The speed with which EU members could free themselves from this dependency is therefore different. Going it alone, such as the German contract with Qatar, is not well received in Paris.
The European energy market is also about “solidarity,” said a senior Macron adviser. Note that some countries have opted for bilateral contracts with alternative energy suppliers. “Our concern is that we will not experience a situation like that at the beginning with the vaccines in the corona crisis again.”
Approval for Habeck’s trip to Germany
In Germany, on the other hand, Habeck’s initiative met with approval. “We see the trip to Qatar as an important door opener. Habeck has thus given Qatar the security that Germany is interested in a longer-term delivery scenario and is advancing the development of LNG terminals, which will also be used to import hydrogen in the future,” said Timm Kehler, head of the “Future Gas” industry association, to the Handelsblatt. The minister has made it clear that it is now up to the companies involved to regulate the supply relationships with Qatar according to market economy criteria, he added.
Andreas Loechel, energy economist at Bochum’s Ruhr University, shares this view. “It makes sense that the federal government and companies are trying to get additional deliveries of pipeline gas and liquid gas for Germany,” he told the Handelsblatt. At the same time, it is also clear “that the crisis can only be overcome at European level”.
Many EU countries have the same problems as Germany, and it is important to use the European pipelines, storage facilities and liquid gas terminals in the best possible way. “It is therefore important that the German efforts are integrated into a common European approach,” said Loeschel.
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