Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli Army Radio's diplomatic correspondent quoted a senior Israeli official as saying: So he [Trump] decided to cut off contact. That might still change, but that’s the situation right now
Israeli Army Radio's diplomatic correspondent quoted a senior Israeli official as saying: Trump’s circle told him [Dermer] that Netanyahu was manipulating him, and there’s nothing Trump hates more than being portrayed as someone being played
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: Meetings between the Israelis, Egyptians, and Qataris are all centered around the Israeli proposal, which does not guarantee an end to the war [on Gaza]
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: “Israel” is threatening to expand the ground offensive if Hamas rejects the proposal
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: Hamas rejects the Israeli proposal, viewing it as failing to guarantee an end to the war
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: “Israel” is sticking to its proposal, and insists there is no alternative offer on the table for negotiation
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: The meetings between the Israelis and the Egyptians and Qataris all revolve around the Israeli proposal
The administration was clearly looking for an off-ramp for this campaign against Ansar Allah, NBC News reports, citing US official
Trump's operation against Ansar Allah cost more than $1 billion, NBC News reports, citing US official
White smoke signals new pope elected: AFP

Germany could become 'bankrupt state' due to energy spending: Berlin

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 24 Dec 2022 20:35
  • 23 Shares
4 Min Read

Germany is fearing its own demise at its own hands as the measures it takes to combat the ongoing energy crisis are causing its reserves to falter.

  • x
  • Cars park in front of an oil tank of Shell as a pilot flame burns atop a flare stack at the refinery of the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland in Godorf near Cologne, Germany, August 3, 2022 (Reuters)
    Cars park in front of an oil tank of Shell as a pilot flame burns atop a flare stack at the refinery of the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland in Godorf near Cologne, Germany, August 3, 2022 (Reuters)

Germany could soon become a dysfunctional, bankrupt state if it stays on the same path it is currently on and fails to deal with the ongoing energy crisis in light of its imbalanced financial policies, Bundestag Vice-President Wolfgang Kubicki said Saturday.

"If we continue that way and want to provide energy assistance for years, then we could face state bankruptcy rather than state socialism," Kubicki told the German Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

According to the Parliament's deputy speaker, the extra money Germany is currently planning to spend on energy imports from elsewhere than Russia would be withdrawn from other areas, as the surplus can be "neither printed on a money printing machine nor covered by taxpayers."

Read next: Germany issues nearly €65 bln relief to deal with winter energy crisis

"Many people have a feeling that Germany is on the way to becoming a dysfunctional state. Infrastructure, governing, energy prices, and the inability of the Bundeswehr to defend its country - we have to take countermeasures; otherwise, things could go wrong," Kubicki stressed.

German left-wing politician and chairman of the Bundestag committee on energy, Klaus Ernst, commented back in September on statements by Chancellor Olaf Scholz that the sanctions should not hit Europe harder than Russia itself: "We have now imposed seven packages of sanctions and Gazprom is making record profits. At the same time, we are threatened with a wave of bankruptcies. Therefore: negotiate with Russia with an open mind."

The largest EU economy is anticipated to contract in 2023, as gas and electricity prices continue to skyrocket. According to the Ifo Institute for Economic Research, the Munich-based think tank, the ongoing energy crisis as a result of the war in Ukraine is “wreaking havoc” on the German economy and they project it could lead to a 0.3% drop in GDP next year.

Related News

Syria to sign deal to import electricity from Turkey, minister says

Maximum pressure: US ends Iraq’s ability to pay for Iranian energy

German politician and fellow left-wing Bundestag member Sahra Wagenknecht condemned the government for dragging the country into a full-blown “economic war” with Russia who happened to be its top energy supplier, while she referred to the Bundestag concerning the fatal impacts that the Russian sanctions have on Germany.

The consecutive sanctions against Moscow prompted a race against the clock to diminish Germany's reliance on Russian gas before winter. Groceries and food are other sectors experiencing the aftermath of soaring inflation which saw prices surge 12% in June before reaching 16.6% in August.

The Bundestag warned that Germany's economic health is at stake considering the spiraling of energy prices out of control, which will serve as “a reminder of the good old days,” followed by Wagenknecht urging for the cancellation of restrictions and engaging in talks with Moscow.

Meanwhile, Germany's gas exports have been a contentious issue within Berlin itself, with officials opposing that the Republic continue pumping oil and gas outside of its borders, with others arguing that Berlin should not abandon its allies within the European Union.

It was speculated that Germany might have to temporarily curtail its energy exports in the winter, including to France, one of the chief German energy importers. 

For many years, Germany has been considered a key electricity exporter. According to data from the network regulator, last year, it supplied 17,400 GWh more electricity to other EU nations than it imported.

Germany's main electricity buyers are France and Austria. According to statistics from the think tank Fraunhofer ISE, France imported 6,000 GWh of power from Germany from January to March this year, accounting for 5% of Germany's total electricity production during that time period. According to the data, this amount was five times higher than in the same period the previous year.

According to analysts, a decline in German power exports may worsen supply shortages in France. Due to concerns with nuclear power plants, France may possibly suspend power deliveries to Italy for two years, according to speculations last month. However, France later denied these allegations.

The French government has urged the country's national utility EDF to restart the country's 32 presently inactive nuclear reactors as soon as feasible. They were taken offline early this year owing to corrosion issues and have since remained under maintenance. EDF has announced that its nuclear power output will fall to its lowest level in over 30 years owing to difficulties at the aging plants.

  • Energy crisis
  • Europe
  • Russia
  • Germany
  • France
  • Ukraine
  • European Union
Russia & NATO

Russia & NATO

As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?

Most Read

Pro-Palestinian protesters march toward the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Washington (AP)

US House to vote on bill criminalizing boycott of 'Israel'

  • Politics
  • 3 May 2025
Throughout Operation Prosperity Guardian, current and former US military and intelligence officials expressed disquiet at the enormous “cost offset” involved in battling Ansar Allah. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab El-Hajj)

Ansar Allah triumphant: US facing Red Sea defeat again

  • Opinion
  • 3 May 2025
Pakistan downs an Indian jet and hits a military base in Kashmir escalation.

Pakistan downs 3 Indian jets, hits military base in Kashmir escalation

  • Politics
  • 7 May 2025
Yemeni missile hits Ben Gurion Airport as interceptors fail

YAF targeted Ben Gurion with hypersonic ballistic missile: Saree

  • MENA
  • 4 May 2025

Coverage

All
Gaza prevails against genocide

Read Next

All
UN experts warn: Stop the genocide or witness Gaza's end
Politics

Stop the genocide or witness end of life in Gaza: UN experts warn

Israeli police attack mourners as they carry the casket of killed Al Jazeera veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh during her funeral in occupied al-Quds, Friday, May 13, 2022. (AP)
Politics

Israeli sniper who killed journalist Shireen Abu Akleh identified

The Department of Defense logo is seen on the wall in the Press Briefing room at the Pentagon, Oct. 29, 2024, in Washington. (AP)
Politics

Pentagon’s unused properties drain billions in taxpayer funds

Haaretz
Palestine

Israeli military avoids calling up unwilling reservists: Haaretz

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS