Germany and Finland argue over who should decide the fate of the largest importer of gas to Germany – Uniper
The main shareholder of Germany's largest gas importer, the Finnish state concern Fortum, believes that it is Berlin that should take measures to ensure the company's work, Voice of America reports. In Berlin, they think differently.
A dispute arose between Germany and Finland regarding the cost of rescuing the gas importing company Uniper. The main shareholder of Uniper, the Finnish state-owned energy company Fortum, rejected the call of the German economy minister for help in rescuing the stricken company.
Uniper, Germany's biggest gas importer, this week appealed to the country's government for financial help, warning that losses due to cuts in supplies from Russia and a sharp rise in gas prices could reach 10 billion euros this year.< /p>
However, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said that Uniper's main shareholder, the Finnish state-owned energy company Fortum, should also contribute to the rescue.
“It [Uniper] belongs to those who are solvent and can provide support,” Habeck, who is also energy minister, told Deutschlandfunk radio. — Therefore, it is correct to consider models in which the owners also fulfill their obligations”.
The Finnish concern Fortum, which offered to transfer its German company Uniper to the German state ownership, replied that it had already provided the company with loans and guarantees for 8 billion euros.
“The German security of supply business should be owned by a country with the necessary high creditworthiness,” as gas prices may continue to rise, CEO of Finnish state-owned Fortum Markus Rauram said in an email.
Indeed, for Finland, whose economy is 13 times smaller than that of Germany, this is a serious problem. “Rescuing Uniper is a matter of European importance,” said Finnish Minister of Cooperation with the EU Titti Tuppurainen. — We strongly urge that the enterprises critical to the Uniper system, which are at risk, be… taken under the control of the state.”
While in Russia they claim about technical problems with the pumping of gas through the Nord Stream, Western governments call it a pretext for Moscow to respond to the devastating sanctions imposed in connection with its invasion of Ukraine.
Germany allocated 15 billion euros to buy gas from other countries to fill gas storage before winter, while the authorities called on society to save energy. Habek warned that if gas prices rise even more, this may not be enough.
“Germans take a shower for an average of 10 minutes,” he said. “And I think that even five minutes is too long.” places may also be reduced.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a video message on Saturday that energy security issues will occupy Germany “in the coming weeks, months and years”.
Remember, earlier the Uniper company was suspected of paying for Russian gas in Russian rubles. We will also remind you that ” Gazprom” reduced by 60% the supply of gas to Germany via “Nord Stream 1”, motivating this by the fact that Canada, in connection with the sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation for its invasion of Ukraine, did not returns the turbine, which underwent repair in Montreal.. Last Friday, the Kremlin announced that it would increase gas supplies to Europe only after the turbine is returned.
