German Chancellor: "Russian Energy Embargo Will Plunge Europe into Recession"

Opposing View Reiterated... "Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs Will Disappear"

Olaf Scholz, German Chancellor
Photo by EPA Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated his opposition to the ban on Russian energy imports on the 23rd (local time). This came as U.S. President Joe Biden, who is scheduled to visit Europe on the 24th, is reportedly preparing support measures to strengthen the European Union (EU)'s energy security, emphasizing his repeated opposition to energy sanctions against Russia.

According to The New York Times (NYT), Chancellor Scholz warned in the Bundestag that the ban on Russian energy imports would cause serious economic and social consequences for Germany and other European countries.

He acknowledged Germany's high dependence on Russian energy, stating, "While we will cut dependence on Russia as soon as possible, doing so overnight would plunge Germany and the entire Europe into a recession." He added, "Hundreds of thousands of jobs would be at risk of disappearing."

While the United States and the United Kingdom, which have low dependence on Russian crude oil, actively support the energy ban, countries with high dependence such as Germany, Hungary, and Bulgaria oppose it. Germany imports 55% of its natural gas, 50% of its coal, and 35% of its oil from Russia.

Chancellor Scholz emphasized, "If we put our own economy at risk, it will not benefit anyone."

The White House announced the day before that President Biden plans to impose additional sanctions on Russia during his European tour. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated this and added, "We will announce joint measures to strengthen the energy security of European countries highly dependent on Russian gas."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.