Dusseldorf Economist Veronika Grimm advocates an embargo on Russian energy imports as a reaction to the war of aggression in Ukraine. Because restraint is not a reaction “that makes it less likely that Putin’s warlike measures will escalate,” she said in the Handelsblatt Disrupt podcast in an interview with editor-in-chief Sebastian Matthes. The longer Germany waits, the more time Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has to prepare for such sanctions.
The economist also spoke about the currently high inflation, measures taken by the federal government to prevent a supply shortage and possible effects of the energy crisis on other sectors such as the food industry.
“The high energy costs are passed on to consumers – also outside the energy sector,” said the economist. Germany “must be prepared to deal with a potential delivery stop”. The supply of the households is not endangered. “If there are supply bottlenecks, you don’t have to expect to be left out in the cold,” she said.
In order to prevent bottlenecks in large parts of industry, where gas is difficult to replace with other forms of energy, Germany must procure gas on the world market promptly.
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More: The previous episode of Handelsblatt Disrupt can be found here.