Russia Gas Ties Europe's Hands on Ukraine --- Berlin is vulnerable if Moscow cuts off fuel exports in response to Western sanctions

"BERLIN -- Germany's dependence on Russian gas has left Europe short of options to sanction Moscow if it invades Ukraine -- and itself vulnerable should Russia stop gas exports to the West.

A two-decade-old decision to phase out nuclear power and more recent moves to cut reliance on coal to bring down carbon-dioxide emissions mean Germany is now more reliant on Russian gas than most of its neighbors, not just for heating but also for power generation.

This year, Germany's last three nuclear power plants will be closed, just as Germany faces some of the highest energy prices in the developed world. All German coal plants are due to be closed by 2038.

With cheap gas reliably flowing from Russia for decades, successive governments never built an infrastructure to import more expensive liquefied natural gas from major exporters such as the U.S. or Qatar.

These factors have converged to make Germany the biggest buyer of Russian gas in the world. It draws more than half its gas imports from Russia against around 40% on average for the European Union, according to Eurostat.

The nuclear phaseout and the exit from coal mean this proportion is likely to increase. Nord Stream 2, a pipeline that was completed last year and awaits formal approval by German regulators, will double capacity for Russian gas exports to the country currently being channeled through the parallel Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

"The decision to phase out nuclear and coal at the same time has made Germany fully dependent on Russian gas and vulnerable to the possibility that Russia could use energy as a weapon," said Gustav Gressel, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank.

Officials in the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz -- whose party, the Social Democrats, has traditionally advocated for close relations with Russia -- have said privately it would mothball Nord Stream 2 in case of Russian aggression.

Publicly, Mr. Scholz hasn't made any such commitment despite repeated urging from Washington and other allies. The chancellor has echoed his predecessor, Angela Merkel, who presided over the construction of Nord Stream 2, in saying that the pipeline is a purely private-sector project that must be separated from political discussions.

While the Kremlin has recently weaponized gas in its dealings with Eastern Europe, cutting supplies to exert political pressure, it has never done so toward Germany, said Erich Vad, a retired German general and former security adviser to the chancellery. That, he said, had shaped Germany's positive view of Russia as a reliable energy supplier.

The Kremlin has denied using gas as a geopolitical weapon and says it is delivering on all contractual obligations." [1]

And for us here in Lithuania, everything is great. Fighting for yours and our freedom around the world, we are buying more expensive liquefied gas, passing on the loss to the Lithuanian people. When those people emigrate from Lithuania losing patience, we are looking for specialists in Africa. Only those African professionals allow feces from toilets to flow through open ditches in the streets. In Lithuania, we will have to spray deodorants in our SUVs. 

1. World News: Russia Gas Ties Europe's Hands on Ukraine --- Berlin is vulnerable if Moscow cuts off fuel exports in response to Western sanctions
Pancevski, Bojan; Kantchev, Georgi. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 24 Jan 2022: A.10.