Here’s how the continent can fight back.
The German government seized control of three refineries (FT) owned by Russian oil company Rosneft before a European Union embargo on Russian crude oil takes effect in December. Operations at the refineries were disrupted (WSJ) after some banks and firms stopped doing business with Rosneft amid Western sanctions. Rosneft accounts for about 12 percent of Germany’s oil refining capacity.
Germany has worked to ensure its energy security and control soaring energy prices ahead of the embargo, passing a law to bring back coal-fired power plants, among other actions. It is also considering taking over three of its largest gas companies, Bloomberg reported.
“The Schwedt refinery [one of the three seized] was the biggest obstacle to Germany accepting the ban on Russian oil imports because thousands of jobs in the region depend on it,” the Wall Street Journal’s Georgi Kantchev and Bojan Pancevski write.
“The first German companies have begun throwing in the towel and consumption is collapsing in response to the fallout from exploding energy prices. The economy is sliding almost uncontrolled into a crisis that could permanently weaken the country,” Der Spiegel writes.
This video looks at Europe’s energy bind.