Germany decided to phase out nuclear power after the 2011 Fukushima disaster and has shut its final three nuclear plants.

Those last three plants produced roughly 5% of the country’s electricity before closure.

The phase‑out is part of Germany’s broader energy transition and climate goals led by Green politicians who say nuclear is not green and are pushing renewables.

Phasing out nuclear increased reliance on gas, and Germany imported about 55% of its gas from Russia before the war.

Russia’s moves in Ukraine prompted sanctions and Germany froze approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Russia reduced pipeline deliveries and Gazprom was said to withhold supplies to European spot markets, which helped push up energy prices.

To cope Germany temporarily extended some nuclear operations, restarted coal plants, built LNG import capacity, and signed a 15‑year MoU with Qatar while gas storage exceeded 95%.

These measures reduced immediate shortage risk but raised energy costs and threaten industrial competitiveness.

There is political and public pressure to reconsider closures: Bavaria’s premier asked to keep Isar‑2 online and polls showed about 60% of Germans viewed the nuclear exit as wrong.

Some politicians proposed sanctions on Russia’s civil nuclear sector and noted that about 20% of EU uranium comes from Russia.

In short, Germany has mitigated short‑term supply risks with LNG, storage and temporary coal or reactor extensions, but higher costs and political pressure mean energy security and calls to restart reactors remain live issues.

Germany decided to phase out nuclear power after the 2011 Fukushima disaster and has shut its final three nuclear plants.

Title:

Content: Home / News / World /  Germany quits nuclear power; shuts final 3 plants
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Germany has shut its final three nuclear plants, marking the end of the country's end of nuclear era that has spanned more than 60 years.

Nuclear power has long been contentious in Germany.

The move has come as Germany's eyes achieve its green goal. Steffi Lemke, Germany’s Federal Minister for the Environment and Consumer Protection and a Green Party member, "The position of the German government is clear: nuclear power is not green. Nor is it sustainable".

Closure of three nuclear plant's history:

Germany shut three plants-- Emsland, Isar 2, and Neckarwestheim, representing the culmination of a plan set in motion more than 20 years ago.

During the 1970s, a strong anti-nuclear movement emerged in Germany. The movement gave birth to the green party, which is now part of governing coalition.

However, it was in the 2000s the German government pledged to phase out nuclear power and start shutting down plants.

But in 2009, a new government came to power and it seemed brief as if nuclear would get a reprieve as a bridging technology to help the country move to renewable energy.

Then Fukushima happened. In 2011, an earthquake and tsunami caused three reactors of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant to melt down.

Three days later then-Chancellor Angela Merkel who was previously pro-nuclear, announced Germany would accelerate a nuclear phase-out, with older plants shuttered immediately.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine provided another plot twist.

Germany isn’t the only country committed to walking away from nuclear — Italy gave up the technology in 1990, and Lithuania recently struck a deal to dismantle its Soviet-era reactors, which have sat idle for over a decade. But in many advanced economies, nuclear is experiencing a resurgence.

On Sunday, Finland will start regular power production at Europe’s newest and biggest reactor. The 1,600-megawatt Olkiluoto-3 unit that faced years of delays had been planned to enter commercial production on Monday. France is planning to build at least six new reactors by 2050 as well as experiment with smaller, modular ones. The UK has similar ambitions. And even in Japan, after a decade of paralysis following the nuclear accident in Fukushima, the public is warming up to the use of nuclear power. The Japanese government wants to restart reactors that have sat idle since the disaster and to extend the lifespan of existing units.

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Content: Chernobyl and the war: how the events in Ukraine prompted Germany to abandon nuclear energy
Greenpeace activist at a protest against nuclear power in Berlin, Germany.
Photo by REUTERS / Nadja Wohlleben
The end of the atomic age.
This weekend, Germany, as promised, shut down its last nuclear power plants.
On Sunday night, the Germans decommissioned three stations: Izar 2 in Bavaria, Necarwesteim-2 in Baden-Württemberg and Emsland in Lower Saxony.
Nuclear power plants, which have recently produced about 5% of the country ’ s electricity, have been shut down as part of the so-called “energy transition. ”
Its goal is to completely switch to green energy by 2035, that is, to produce electricity from renewable sources.
Read also:
The decision to finally abandon the peaceful atom was given to the German authorities not easy.
A week ago, in political Berlin, there were calls to postpone the closure of the reactors for at least a few months, so as not to jeopardize the security of energy supply in the country.
Moreover, the temporary continuation of the work of the nuclear power plant of Chancellor Olaf Scholz was requested by both the opposition Christian Democrats and the liberals included in the ruling coalition.
Most Germans did not support the closure of the nuclear power plant.
According to sociologists, about 60% of the country ’ s residents called the government ’ s decision to abandon the peaceful atom wrong.
The reason is obvious: people are afraid of further increases in electricity prices, which have literally exploded.
Farewell to the atom: the Ukrainian factor
In fact, the decision to close all German nuclear power plants was made in 2011 by the government of Angela Merkel after the accident at the Japanese nuclear power plant Fukushima.
But the discussion about the abandonment of nuclear power began much earlier — in 1986, after the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
The accident sparked widespread protests against the use of the peaceful atom, and after Chernobyl, the now ruling Social Democratic Party announced that it would support the closure of all German nuclear power plants and enshrined this position in its political program.
Events in Ukraine also affected the timing of the closure of the nuclear power plant.
Germany planned to shut down all its nuclear power plants by the end of 2022.
However, after a full-scale Russian attack on Ukraine, the operation of the reactors was decided to extend for several more months.
Germany, which took the course of abandoning all Russian energy resources, was afraid of problems with energy supply.
Bavarian exception: will one of the richest lands in Germany be allowed to restart nuclear power plants
In the final rejection of the peaceful atom, it seems, not all German politicians believe.
At least regional.
The prime minister of Bavaria - one of the richest German states - Markus Seder has already said that he will ask the federal government to reconsider its decision.
And this is a few hours after the closing of the last nuclear power plant!
Seder wants the Bavarians to make an exception – allowed them to continue to operate the nuclear power plant “Izar-2 ”, located on the territory of the earth.
Like, now, in times of energy crisis, to abandon nuclear energy is not only risky, but also stupid.
That can be done a little later.
"Bavaria demands that the federal government take responsibility for the continued operation of nuclear power.
Until the crisis is over and the country has switched to renewable energy, we must use all forms of energy before the end of the decade.
Anyone who, like the ruling coalition, hopes that the next winter will be as mild as the previous one, acts extremely naive and careless for an industrial country like Germany, ” said Seder.
And he promised that in the case of a positive decision from Berlin, Bavaria is ready to take responsibility for the operation of the nuclear power plant.
The Bavarian prime minister thought about other lands.
It requires the government to develop and submit a plan for the reactivation of disconnected nuclear power plants.
If necessary, nuclear power plants will be able to resume their work quickly.
Official Berlin has already responded to the calls of the Bavarian Prime Minister – the Minister for Environmental Protection advised Zeder not to engage in political populism.
Non-peaceful atom: Germany wants sanctions against Russian nuclear energy
On the day of the closure of their own nuclear power plants, the Germans also mentioned the nuclear energy of the aggressor country of Russia.
Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Economy of Germany Robert Gabeck proposed to impose sanctions against the nuclear industry of the Russian Federation.
At the EU level.
For example, to include penalties in the next, already eleventh, sanctions package, the development and coordination of which the Europeans will begin in the near future.
“We have seen that Russia purposefully uses dependence in the energy sector for pressure.
Therefore, the federal government called on the European Commission to impose sanctions on the civilian nuclear sector.
Nuclear technology is an extremely sensitive area, and Russia can no longer be perceived as a reliable partner here, ” Gabek said.
What sanctions are we talking about – the politician did not specify.
However, in early April, after a visit to Ukraine, he proposed to impose sanctions against states that buy uranium from Russia for their nuclear power plants.
Not immediately, but after the transition.
“It is important to start and not be afraid of decisive actions in this area, ” Gabek explained.
The EU ’ s dependence on Russia ’ s nuclear sector is really serious.
About 20% of the uranium for their nuclear power plants EU countries receive from Russia.
Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic are completely dependent on these supplies, that is, 100%.
On the sale of uranium in the European Union, Russia earns 450 million euros a year.
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Those last three plants produced roughly 5% of the country’s electricity before closure.

The phase‑out is part of Germany’s broader energy transition and climate goals led by Green politicians who say nuclear is not green and are pushing renewables.

Title:

Content: This is an audio transcript of the FT News Briefing podcast episode: Russia’s move on Ukraine triggers western sanctions

Marc Filippino
Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Wednesday, February 23rd, and this is your FT News Briefing.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Russia is edging closer to war. President Vladimir Putin is endorsing Russian-backed separatists who claim the entire Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Meanwhile, western powers are pushing back both with sanctions and by suspending the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. But can Germany kick its Russian gas habit?

Guy Chazan
Its industry has really become addicted to relatively cheap Russian gas so it’s in a bit of a bind, really.

Marc Filippino
Plus, how are Russian markets holding up through all this? Unsurprisingly, not so great. We’ll tell you more. I’m Marc Filippino, and here’s the news you need to start your day.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Very late on Monday night, Russian president Vladimir Putin decided to send what he called peacekeeping troops into eastern Ukraine. They’ll support two Russian-backed separatist states that he’s recognised as independent. This crossed a line for western powers, and they retaliated with a salvo of sanctions against Moscow on Tuesday. The US is targeting two of Russia’s largest financial institutions, as well as Russian elites and their family members. The FT’s Henry Foy has more on Europe’s sanctions towards Russia.

Henry Foy
So the European Union has decided to sanction a lot of individuals and entities. They’ve gone after 351 members of the Russian parliament. These are elected MPs, elected representatives who voted for the independence of these statelets, these separatists to be recognised for troops to be sent in, and also 27 individuals and entities who are linked to actions that have undermined Ukraine’s sovereignty. The key thing here, though, is the EU, just like the US and the UK who also announced their own sanction packages, are saying this is not it. This is just the first wave. And if you continue aggression against Ukraine and if there is a full invasion of the rest of Ukraine not held by these pro-Russian separatists, then there will be more — much, much more. This first wave is targeted. It’s not particularly economically damaging, but it’s a sign that there is unity across the west in standing up to this.

Marc Filippino
Henry, is all this enough to push Russia from further escalation?

Henry Foy
Well Marc, officials I speak to here in Brussels, in the EU, inside of Nato, tell me basically, no. That effectively, Putin has made a decision that he is going to go the whole way and invade Ukraine. That’s a decision that he’s built up over years. It’s an emotional decision. It’s an irrational one. And there’s really little that the west can do about it, given that Putin has thrown away and torn up all the diplomatic efforts. And he will take these sanctions and the sanctions will slow him down. They will affect the Russian economy. They will make an invasion more painful than perhaps it would have been before. However, they’re not going to stop him if that is what he intends to do, and most people, the Nato intelligence community, the defence community, believes that that is his decision.

Marc Filippino
Now, how is Nato’s approaching all this? You know, a crucial issue for Russia is that it wants to keep Ukraine and other former Soviet countries out of Nato. What’s its role right now?

Henry Foy
So Nato’s role, they’ve been very clear about this, is to protect itself, to protect alliance members, to protect Nato members in Europe. So what they’ve done in recent months and weeks is to deploy more troops in eastern European countries that border Ukraine and Russia effectively as deterrents to Russia to say, look, if you are going to invade Ukraine, you’re not going to come anywhere near us because we are going to defend our own, our own members, but also to help with any cross-border fallout from an invasion of Ukraine, which is likely to be in the form of refugees, potentially spillover events such as terrorism.

Marc Filippino
Henry Foy is the FT’s European diplomatic correspondent.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The news of Russia sending troops to Ukraine sent the price of oil up to nearly 100 bucks a barrel yesterday, and there was other energy news too. Germany has frozen the approval process on the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Berlin would not approve the Kremlin-backed project. The pipeline is owned by the Russian-backed company Gazprom and would have increased a Russian gas supplies to Germany and the rest of Europe. The pipeline project has been in the works for years, and there has been a lot of pressure on Germany to stop it. But now that it’s been stopped, what’s next for Germany’s energy sector? Our Berlin bureau chief Guy Chazan joins me now to talk about this. Welcome to the show, Guy.

Guy Chazan
Hi.

Marc Filippino
So Guy, one of our Lex columnists wrote that Germany has been like a junkie in its addiction to Russian gas. How dependent is Germany on Russian energy?

Guy Chazan
Well, it relies on Russia for 55 per cent of its gas imports, and that’s more than many other countries in Europe. It’s a sort of, it’s an indictment in a way of the country’s kind of energy policies over the past few years because in 2011 it took this rather controversial decision to phase out all its nuclear power stations by 2022, and it’s now also phasing out its coal-fired power stations by 2030. So it has all these very ambitious goals to change its energy mix, but that has made it relatively more reliant on gas. And when you’re more reliant on gas, you’re more reliant on Gazprom because that’s Europe’s major supplier.

Marc Filippino
Yeah, and Russia, in response to Germany’s move, said, OK, well, you know, this is going to have an impact on already high energy prices. How hard will higher prices hit Germany’s economy?

Guy Chazan
Well, we’ve already been getting a taste of it because over the past few months, energy experts have said that Gazprom seems to be deliberately withholding supplies to the spot market in Europe, and that has driven up prices. But it’s basically destroyed the reputation of Gazprom as a reliable supplier in Germany. The green minister of the economy yesterday said that explicitly, and that’s really a big change because in the past, whenever you sort of ask German officials, you know, what about this relationship with Russia? They always say, well, you know, even in the worst times during the cold war, Russia was a reliable supplier. Those flows of gas were never affected. But that seems to have changed in recent months, and the perception of Gazprom has accordingly changed as well in Germany.

Marc Filippino
So given that this perception of Gazprom has changed, what alternatives does Germany have when it comes to energy sources?

Guy Chazan
Well, none at the moment. That’s the problem. It basically is building a terminal for the import of LNG, liquefied natural gas. But that is very expensive, much more expensive than Gazprom’s gas. So it’s in a bit of a bind, really. But the big difference, I suppose, really from the Merkel era, the governments of Angela Merkel, is that we now have this government with the Greens, and they are determined for Germany to go carbon neutral in the next 25 years. And if that ambition is achieved, then there will be much, much more renewables, much more wind and solar, and much less reliance on fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas.

Marc Filippino
Less of a question on the economics of this whole thing and more about the safety of German people. I mean, it’s the middle of February. If people aren’t able to heat their homes, is there a potential issue with people being safe and warm in Germany?

Guy Chazan
Well, I don’t think so, because the consensus is that Gazprom and Russia would not do anything as suicidal as withhold gas supplies to Germany. I mean that literally would be destroying an energy relationship, which is mutually, very, very beneficial. It’s not just Germany that benefits from this. It’s Russia, too, which relies very, very heavily on the flow of foreign currency into its exchequer. I think actually, if it were to come to that, Germany is actually quite well placed at the moment because the winter is drawing to an end and it’s getting sort of LNG shipments via Rotterdam. So it has been able to diversify. And apparently ministers have been saying the energy security situation is OK at the moment.

Marc Filippino
Guy Chazan is the FT’s Berlin bureau chief. Thank you, Guy.

Guy Chazan
Thanks.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Marc Filippino
Moscow’s main stock benchmark has collapsed by a third since October. Markets have been responding to the escalating crisis in Ukraine. Investors are mostly worried about two things — one, a full-blown invasion by Russia into Ukraine, and two, how sanctions, which you know, we talked about earlier, will affect assets. Our capital markets correspondent Tommy Stubbington has been following this and says there’s one area in particular investors are watching.

Tommy Stubbington
Possibly the most extreme form of sanctions in terms of their impact on the Russian stock market would be an outright ban on trading Russian stocks or Russian bonds on the secondary market, which would make it effectively impossible for western investors to hold those assets. Now we’re not there yet, but I mean, obviously any outside risks that investors see will lead to investors effectively dumping the Russian assets that they hold, and they do hold those assets largely because they are included in the indices, the investment benchmarks, the billions and billions of dollars of investments follow.

Marc Filippino
Now how insulated is the market overall? And is it likely that the Kremlin would react?

Tommy Stubbington
Share price declines, on their own, are probably something that I imagine the Kremlin wouldn’t be too worried about. They’d be more worried about the sanctions hurting at the level of the whole economy. And on that basis, the Russian economy is fairly well insulated from sanctions by the high level of dollar reserves that their central bank holds, which, you know, should be able to protect the rouble from any kind of run from overseas investors. And so the answer is the, you know, the Russian economy is certainly more sanctions-proof than possibly it was in the past.

Marc Filippino
Tommy Stubbington is the FT’s capital markets correspondent.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

You can read more on all of these stories at FT.com. This has been your daily FT News Briefing. Make sure you check back tomorrow for the latest business news.

This transcript has been automatically generated. If by any chance there is an error please send the details for a correction to: typo@ft.com. We will do our best to make the amendment as soon as possible.

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Phasing out nuclear increased reliance on gas, and Germany imported about 55% of its gas from Russia before the war.

Title:

Content: Russia ’ s invasion of Ukraine has pushed Germany into a strategic shift that is difficult to implement.
Russia ’ s invasion of Ukraine has pushed Germany into a strategic shift that is difficult to implement.
BERLIN (Reuters) - A year ago, Olaf Schulz announced a strategic shift in Germany after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, at a juncture that remains difficult to implement.
Remarks by the German chancellor at the recent Munich Security Conference reveal the extent of this change.
Schulz told other Western officials: “We bear the responsibility that a country the size, status and economic power of Germany must bear at times like this. ”
Germany, which has not forgotten the atrocities of the Nazis, has long been peaceful, sending troops to any European territory only during the NATO intervention in Kosovo in 1999.
Dreaming of a post-Cold War German-Russian consensus and German reunification, the country allowed its military capabilities to decline and was merely the first European economic power without taking on more responsibility for world security.
Rolf Nikel, vice president of the think-tank German Council on Foreign Relations, said: “Our perception that security can only be achieved with Russia, not against it, and this was a mistake. ”
With the start of the Russian offensive on February 24, 2022, all these facts fell.
Three days later, Schulz announced to the Bundestag the start of a “new era ” and set aside an extraordinary €100 billion to modernise the army.
After years of hesitation to commit to NATO funding targets, Berlin has promised to allocate more than 2 percent of its gross domestic product annually to the defence sector.
Germany ’ s energy model, a key sector of the economy, has also changed.
Before the war, manufacturers derived from Russia 55 percent of their need for gas and 35 percent of their need for oil.
Affordable gas was making the transition while alternative energies such as wind and solar regulations were being developed, following Berlin ’ s decision to phase out nuclear power in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
“We thought it was a process of mutual dependence: yes, we were dependent on supplies from Russia, but we assumed that it was also dependent on us as a vendor, ” Nikel said.
“We didn ’ t have an alternative plan. ”
To replace Russian gas pipelines, Berlin has been forced to extend the operation of nuclear power plants for a few months, temporarily restart a number of coal-fired power plants and open liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants to import the gas.
A year after the start of the Russian offensive, Germany became “independent of Russian gas, ” as Olav Schulz declared.
In fact, the country had no other choice as Russia gradually reduced deliveries via the Nord Stream underwater gas pipeline.
An explosion of unknown origin in September brought shipments to a halt after causing damage to pipes.
Without Russian gas, Germany is buying liquefied natural gas at much higher prices, which threatens to permanently weaken the competitiveness of some industrial sectors.
Strategic and military transformation is taking place with great difficulty.
Marie-Agnes Strak-Zimmermann, a lawmaker from the Liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), a member of the coalition government, said the strong impression left by Schulz ’ s speech on February 27 last year had “waned over the months ” because“ it took months for Germany to actually start supporting Ukraine, including with military equipment and weapons. ”
The weekly magazine “Der Spiegel ” recently wondered“ how long does Schulz want to hide behind (US President Joe) Biden? ”, expressing its displeasure at an adviser who thinks about security only under the American umbrella.
From artillery to battle tanks, Schulz faced criticism for being too slow.
Schulz has to take into account the reservations of part of society, as evidenced by a “manifesto for peace ” launched by far-left politician Sara Wagenickt and women ’ s rights activist Alice Schwarzer.
The statement, signed by 500,000 people for “compromises ” by Kiev and Moscow, calls for demonstrations on Saturday.
As for the leadership role that Germany now wants to take on, it “needs communication, ” says opposition lawmaker Jürgen Hart of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who criticizes Angela Merkel ’ s successor for his unheard and confusing remarks, which could lead to“ a loss of trust and commitment. ”
arabic

Russia’s moves in Ukraine prompted sanctions and Germany froze approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Russia reduced pipeline deliveries and Gazprom was said to withhold supplies to European spot markets, which helped push up energy prices.

To cope Germany temporarily extended some nuclear operations, restarted coal plants, built LNG import capacity, and signed a 15‑year MoU with Qatar while gas storage exceeded 95%.

Title:

Content: Arabic & International
Send Save Print PDF
Denis Comitat to Al-Nahar: The presence of a German spokesperson in the Middle East is proof of our interest in spreading in the Arab world
Dr. Denis Komett, spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry in the Middle East and North Africa region and director of the German Media Center, told Al-Nahar that Russia ’ s war of aggression against Ukraine is a war against international law and must end it immediately, noting that this terrible war affects different regions and has caused explosion in food prices and food insecurity.
He stressed that Germany will not suffer from a shortage of gas supplies, noting that German gas storage facilities are currently more than 95% full.
He stressed the German government ’ s support for people facing financial challenges due to high energy bills, noting that a memorandum of understanding has been signed with Qatar that will allow gas supplies to Germany for 15 years.
as well as an energy partnership with the United Arab Emirates.
He also stressed that Germany is committed to its international obligations in the field of reception of refugees and that those allowed to stay have good opportunities to integrate into Germany.
To the text of the dialogue:
♪
How the Federal Government of Germany monitors the Russo-Ukrainian War
Its current and future causes and consequences?
What is Germany doing to end this war?
♪
We have said from the beginning that this war of Russian aggression against Ukraine is a war against international law, and Russia must end it immediately.
This terrible war affects very different regions: first of all, of course, it affects the people of Ukraine, destroying their livelihoods, and the infrastructure of their country.
But of course it also affects Europe, because of the influx of many people seeking protection, and we have already taken them in.
At the political level, through Russia ’ s brutal violation of the most basic norms of international law.
Globally, the impact of war has been demonstrated by exploding food prices and food insecurity.
As you can see, there are many effects, all of which are bad.
Germany wants the war to end immediately.
All the Russian president has to do is give the order to withdraw.
Alternative Energy
♪
How Germany will cope with what can be described as a severe winter crisis without Russian gas
Is Gulf gas among Germany ’ s alternative energy sources?
♪
I have to correct the idea that Germany will suffer a severe energy crisis next winter.
The war quickly turned our backs on Russian gas imports, leading to higher energy prices — a price we are politically willing to pay.
Therefore, the German government also supports people who face financial challenges due to high energy bills.
But we are also well prepared for the winter: German gas storage facilities are currently over 95% full.
In addition, we signed a memorandum of understanding with Qatar just last week, which would allow gas supplies to Germany for 15 years.
There is also an energy partnership with the United Arab Emirates.
Other important gas suppliers to Germany also come from Europe, for example from Norway.
At the same time, we are expanding our capabilities in the field of renewable energies.
Each installed solar panel makes us less dependent on Russian gas, and improves the results of our climate action.
A source of strength.
♪
The Russian-Ukrainian war and earlier conflicts in the Middle East (Libya, Iraq-Yemen, Tunisia, Syria) have caused a steady increase in the number of migrants to Europe in general and Germany in particular.
How to deal with the issue of migrants and refugees in Germany
To what extent are they a burden on infrastructure in Germany?
♪
The reasons for people moving to Europe have always been diverse: some are under severe political persecution, others are looking for a better economic life.
Germany is committed to its international obligations in the reception of refugees.
We want people who are allowed to stay here to have good opportunities to integrate into Germany.
Just last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took part in an event on “Germany as an immigration state. ”
The modern immigration state views diversity as a source of strength.
The modern immigration state recognizes individual life paths and promotes participation and inclusion from the outset.
It is important for us to create the framework conditions for how this can best work.
Furthermore, we support legal migration routes to Germany, as well as a large number of projects in so-called refugee-receiving countries (such as Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey as well as North Africa) in order to give refugees and migrants in these countries better prospects for the future.
Responsibilities of Germany
♪
Climate policy requires the whole world to join hands and industrially developed countries have a greater role to play. What assistance will Germany provide to the Middle East countries to overcome the consequences of this crisis?
♪
It is right that we must work together to contain the tragic effects of the climate crisis, which we are beginning to feel clearly today.
All countries must do more, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, so that we can achieve the Paris climate goals.
As a large industrialized country, Germany has a special responsibility here.
This is why we support many climate protection projects across the region.
Significant progress was also made at the COP27 Conference of the Parties, held in Sharm el-Sheikh.
There will be a fund that will support the countries most particularly affected in the event of climate damage.
Many countries have fought for it for decades, and Germany and the European Union have actively campaigned for it before and during the COP.
♪
Germany has set itself the goal of being climate-neutral by 2045.
Tell us about the package of actions associated with achieving this goal!
♪
In Germany this year, we released the most ambitious legislative package in decades to expand renewable energies.
By 2030, 80 percent of our electricity must come from renewable sources.
We have also created targets for different sectors, such as transportation, consumption, electricity, house construction or renovation and many other areas, which we will then implement one by one to achieve the big picture.
We are firmly focused on the goal of climate neutrality by 2045, as the German chancellor reiterated during his speech at COP27.
Spreading
♪
I mentioned before that the presence of a German speaker in the Middle East is a sign of the rapprochement between Germany and the Arab world.
Can we talk about the points of contact and rapprochement from the point of view of Germany?
And what are the political issues that clearly show this convergence?
♪
Germany and the Arab world are getting closer and closer together, and interest in Germany in the Arab world is very high, so many people have a lot of questions about Germany, its society and its politics.
The task of the regional speaker is to shed light on these specific issues, to show what Germany stands for politically and economically, to point out the particular priorities of our policies – examples this year are above all our support for Ukraine, Germany ’ s climate-related foreign policy, and feminist foreign policy – and also to explain a little about our society.
Of course, this works best in this region in Arabic, because we can reach many people by choosing the language, which is very important to me.
This way I connect with many different people from all over the region, which I consider very special.
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These measures reduced immediate shortage risk but raised energy costs and threaten industrial competitiveness.

Title:

Content: Economy
Named the consequences of the refusal of Germany from Russian oil and gas
NZZ: Germany will become dependent on Chinese electric generators in case of refusal of gas and oil from Russia
Germany ’ s refusal of Russian oil and gas will lead it to dependence on the supply of Chinese solar and wind power generators.
The consequences of the refusal of gas and oil from Russia called the columnist of the Swiss newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung (NZZ) Wolfgang Bock.
The journalist criticized the German authorities for their commitment to plans to completely abandon nuclear power plants.
“Germany ’ s hasty rejection of both nuclear and coal power almost pushed it into the arms of Russia, ” he said.
Bock believes that Berlin was wrong to rely on gas generation as a temporary solution in the transition to solar and wind farms and backup capacity in case of a shortage of electricity.
He was skeptical of plans to replace gas from Russia with Qatari LNG.
In his opinion, the idea of replacing gas with hydrogen is untenable due to the high electricity costs for its production.
The observer stressed that the production of solar panels and wind generators in Germany is in decline due to the dumping of Chinese manufacturers.
“Germany is sliding from one dependence to another: a green and carbon-free economy is impossible without massive imports from China, ” Bock said.
Earlier it was reported that Germany wants to return power plants running on coal and oil, if Russia stops the supply of natural gas to the country.
Bloomberg got acquainted with the emergency decree, which was approved by the head of the Ministry of economy of Germany Robert Habeck.
“That ’ s when I felt my strength! ”
The good tape is deactivated.
Welcome to the real world.

There is political and public pressure to reconsider closures: Bavaria’s premier asked to keep Isar‑2 online and polls showed about 60% of Germans viewed the nuclear exit as wrong.

Some politicians proposed sanctions on Russia’s civil nuclear sector and noted that about 20% of EU uranium comes from Russia.

In short, Germany has mitigated short‑term supply risks with LNG, storage and temporary coal or reactor extensions, but higher costs and political pressure mean energy security and calls to restart reactors remain live issues.


Germany decided in 2011 to phase out all its nuclear power stations following the Fukushima disaster.

Germany shut its final three nuclear plants (Emsland, Isar-2 and Neckarwestheim) when it ended commercial atomic power.

Those last reactors produced roughly 5% of Germany’s electricity before they were switched off.

The nuclear exit is part of Germany’s broader energy transition toward renewables and a plan described in some sources as aiming for a full switch to green energy by 2035.

Germany also has a government target of carbon neutrality by 2045 and a legislative goal for about 80% of electricity to come from renewables by 2030.

Phasing out nuclear (and a planned phase-out of coal) made Germany relatively more reliant on gas.

Before the war, Germany relied on Russia for about 55% of its gas imports.

After Russia’s move on Ukraine, Germany froze approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.

Reports and experts said Gazprom appeared to withhold supplies to the European spot market and that this pushed up energy prices and damaged Gazprom’s reputation as a reliable supplier to Germany.

To cope with reduced Russian pipeline gas, Germany briefly extended the operation of some nuclear units, restarted some coal-fired plants and accelerated use of LNG terminals.

Two reactors were put into reserve until April rather than being fully retired at the end of 2022, according to reporting on government decisions.

Berlin also sought alternative supplies and deals, including a memorandum with Qatar for long-term gas deliveries and energy partnerships with the United Arab Emirates, and German gas storage facilities were reported to be over 95% full at one point.

Rising wholesale energy and gas prices have raised costs for households and industry and were described as threatening the competitiveness of some industrial sectors.

Parts of the political landscape and segments of the public pushed to delay shutdowns or to reopen reactors, with Bavaria’s premier Markus Söder publicly asking for an exception for Isar‑2 and calls to prepare plans to reactivate plants.

Polling reported that about 60% of Germans considered the decision to end nuclear power to be wrong.

The government also placed some Russian-linked energy companies and assets under trusteeship to protect supply security.

Commentators have warned that the combination of abandoning nuclear and cutting Russian fossil fuels risks creating new dependencies, for example on imported renewable equipment, according to opinion pieces.

In short, Germany moved away from nuclear for safety and political reasons and has been managing the loss with more gas, LNG, temporary coal use, storage and new supply deals while the Russia‑Ukraine war disrupted Russian pipeline deliveries and prompted political and public pressure to reconsider nuclear options.

Germany decided in 2011 to phase out all its nuclear power stations following the Fukushima disaster.

Title:

Content: Home / News / World /  Germany quits nuclear power; shuts final 3 plants
Back

Germany has shut its final three nuclear plants, marking the end of the country's end of nuclear era that has spanned more than 60 years.

Nuclear power has long been contentious in Germany.

The move has come as Germany's eyes achieve its green goal. Steffi Lemke, Germany’s Federal Minister for the Environment and Consumer Protection and a Green Party member, "The position of the German government is clear: nuclear power is not green. Nor is it sustainable".

Closure of three nuclear plant's history:

Germany shut three plants-- Emsland, Isar 2, and Neckarwestheim, representing the culmination of a plan set in motion more than 20 years ago.

During the 1970s, a strong anti-nuclear movement emerged in Germany. The movement gave birth to the green party, which is now part of governing coalition.

However, it was in the 2000s the German government pledged to phase out nuclear power and start shutting down plants.

But in 2009, a new government came to power and it seemed brief as if nuclear would get a reprieve as a bridging technology to help the country move to renewable energy.

Then Fukushima happened. In 2011, an earthquake and tsunami caused three reactors of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant to melt down.

Three days later then-Chancellor Angela Merkel who was previously pro-nuclear, announced Germany would accelerate a nuclear phase-out, with older plants shuttered immediately.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine provided another plot twist.

Germany isn’t the only country committed to walking away from nuclear — Italy gave up the technology in 1990, and Lithuania recently struck a deal to dismantle its Soviet-era reactors, which have sat idle for over a decade. But in many advanced economies, nuclear is experiencing a resurgence.

On Sunday, Finland will start regular power production at Europe’s newest and biggest reactor. The 1,600-megawatt Olkiluoto-3 unit that faced years of delays had been planned to enter commercial production on Monday. France is planning to build at least six new reactors by 2050 as well as experiment with smaller, modular ones. The UK has similar ambitions. And even in Japan, after a decade of paralysis following the nuclear accident in Fukushima, the public is warming up to the use of nuclear power. The Japanese government wants to restart reactors that have sat idle since the disaster and to extend the lifespan of existing units.

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Content: This is an audio transcript of the FT News Briefing podcast episode: Russia’s move on Ukraine triggers western sanctions

Marc Filippino
Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Wednesday, February 23rd, and this is your FT News Briefing.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Russia is edging closer to war. President Vladimir Putin is endorsing Russian-backed separatists who claim the entire Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Meanwhile, western powers are pushing back both with sanctions and by suspending the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. But can Germany kick its Russian gas habit?

Guy Chazan
Its industry has really become addicted to relatively cheap Russian gas so it’s in a bit of a bind, really.

Marc Filippino
Plus, how are Russian markets holding up through all this? Unsurprisingly, not so great. We’ll tell you more. I’m Marc Filippino, and here’s the news you need to start your day.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Very late on Monday night, Russian president Vladimir Putin decided to send what he called peacekeeping troops into eastern Ukraine. They’ll support two Russian-backed separatist states that he’s recognised as independent. This crossed a line for western powers, and they retaliated with a salvo of sanctions against Moscow on Tuesday. The US is targeting two of Russia’s largest financial institutions, as well as Russian elites and their family members. The FT’s Henry Foy has more on Europe’s sanctions towards Russia.

Henry Foy
So the European Union has decided to sanction a lot of individuals and entities. They’ve gone after 351 members of the Russian parliament. These are elected MPs, elected representatives who voted for the independence of these statelets, these separatists to be recognised for troops to be sent in, and also 27 individuals and entities who are linked to actions that have undermined Ukraine’s sovereignty. The key thing here, though, is the EU, just like the US and the UK who also announced their own sanction packages, are saying this is not it. This is just the first wave. And if you continue aggression against Ukraine and if there is a full invasion of the rest of Ukraine not held by these pro-Russian separatists, then there will be more — much, much more. This first wave is targeted. It’s not particularly economically damaging, but it’s a sign that there is unity across the west in standing up to this.

Marc Filippino
Henry, is all this enough to push Russia from further escalation?

Henry Foy
Well Marc, officials I speak to here in Brussels, in the EU, inside of Nato, tell me basically, no. That effectively, Putin has made a decision that he is going to go the whole way and invade Ukraine. That’s a decision that he’s built up over years. It’s an emotional decision. It’s an irrational one. And there’s really little that the west can do about it, given that Putin has thrown away and torn up all the diplomatic efforts. And he will take these sanctions and the sanctions will slow him down. They will affect the Russian economy. They will make an invasion more painful than perhaps it would have been before. However, they’re not going to stop him if that is what he intends to do, and most people, the Nato intelligence community, the defence community, believes that that is his decision.

Marc Filippino
Now, how is Nato’s approaching all this? You know, a crucial issue for Russia is that it wants to keep Ukraine and other former Soviet countries out of Nato. What’s its role right now?

Henry Foy
So Nato’s role, they’ve been very clear about this, is to protect itself, to protect alliance members, to protect Nato members in Europe. So what they’ve done in recent months and weeks is to deploy more troops in eastern European countries that border Ukraine and Russia effectively as deterrents to Russia to say, look, if you are going to invade Ukraine, you’re not going to come anywhere near us because we are going to defend our own, our own members, but also to help with any cross-border fallout from an invasion of Ukraine, which is likely to be in the form of refugees, potentially spillover events such as terrorism.

Marc Filippino
Henry Foy is the FT’s European diplomatic correspondent.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The news of Russia sending troops to Ukraine sent the price of oil up to nearly 100 bucks a barrel yesterday, and there was other energy news too. Germany has frozen the approval process on the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Berlin would not approve the Kremlin-backed project. The pipeline is owned by the Russian-backed company Gazprom and would have increased a Russian gas supplies to Germany and the rest of Europe. The pipeline project has been in the works for years, and there has been a lot of pressure on Germany to stop it. But now that it’s been stopped, what’s next for Germany’s energy sector? Our Berlin bureau chief Guy Chazan joins me now to talk about this. Welcome to the show, Guy.

Guy Chazan
Hi.

Marc Filippino
So Guy, one of our Lex columnists wrote that Germany has been like a junkie in its addiction to Russian gas. How dependent is Germany on Russian energy?

Guy Chazan
Well, it relies on Russia for 55 per cent of its gas imports, and that’s more than many other countries in Europe. It’s a sort of, it’s an indictment in a way of the country’s kind of energy policies over the past few years because in 2011 it took this rather controversial decision to phase out all its nuclear power stations by 2022, and it’s now also phasing out its coal-fired power stations by 2030. So it has all these very ambitious goals to change its energy mix, but that has made it relatively more reliant on gas. And when you’re more reliant on gas, you’re more reliant on Gazprom because that’s Europe’s major supplier.

Marc Filippino
Yeah, and Russia, in response to Germany’s move, said, OK, well, you know, this is going to have an impact on already high energy prices. How hard will higher prices hit Germany’s economy?

Guy Chazan
Well, we’ve already been getting a taste of it because over the past few months, energy experts have said that Gazprom seems to be deliberately withholding supplies to the spot market in Europe, and that has driven up prices. But it’s basically destroyed the reputation of Gazprom as a reliable supplier in Germany. The green minister of the economy yesterday said that explicitly, and that’s really a big change because in the past, whenever you sort of ask German officials, you know, what about this relationship with Russia? They always say, well, you know, even in the worst times during the cold war, Russia was a reliable supplier. Those flows of gas were never affected. But that seems to have changed in recent months, and the perception of Gazprom has accordingly changed as well in Germany.

Marc Filippino
So given that this perception of Gazprom has changed, what alternatives does Germany have when it comes to energy sources?

Guy Chazan
Well, none at the moment. That’s the problem. It basically is building a terminal for the import of LNG, liquefied natural gas. But that is very expensive, much more expensive than Gazprom’s gas. So it’s in a bit of a bind, really. But the big difference, I suppose, really from the Merkel era, the governments of Angela Merkel, is that we now have this government with the Greens, and they are determined for Germany to go carbon neutral in the next 25 years. And if that ambition is achieved, then there will be much, much more renewables, much more wind and solar, and much less reliance on fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas.

Marc Filippino
Less of a question on the economics of this whole thing and more about the safety of German people. I mean, it’s the middle of February. If people aren’t able to heat their homes, is there a potential issue with people being safe and warm in Germany?

Guy Chazan
Well, I don’t think so, because the consensus is that Gazprom and Russia would not do anything as suicidal as withhold gas supplies to Germany. I mean that literally would be destroying an energy relationship, which is mutually, very, very beneficial. It’s not just Germany that benefits from this. It’s Russia, too, which relies very, very heavily on the flow of foreign currency into its exchequer. I think actually, if it were to come to that, Germany is actually quite well placed at the moment because the winter is drawing to an end and it’s getting sort of LNG shipments via Rotterdam. So it has been able to diversify. And apparently ministers have been saying the energy security situation is OK at the moment.

Marc Filippino
Guy Chazan is the FT’s Berlin bureau chief. Thank you, Guy.

Guy Chazan
Thanks.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Marc Filippino
Moscow’s main stock benchmark has collapsed by a third since October. Markets have been responding to the escalating crisis in Ukraine. Investors are mostly worried about two things — one, a full-blown invasion by Russia into Ukraine, and two, how sanctions, which you know, we talked about earlier, will affect assets. Our capital markets correspondent Tommy Stubbington has been following this and says there’s one area in particular investors are watching.

Tommy Stubbington
Possibly the most extreme form of sanctions in terms of their impact on the Russian stock market would be an outright ban on trading Russian stocks or Russian bonds on the secondary market, which would make it effectively impossible for western investors to hold those assets. Now we’re not there yet, but I mean, obviously any outside risks that investors see will lead to investors effectively dumping the Russian assets that they hold, and they do hold those assets largely because they are included in the indices, the investment benchmarks, the billions and billions of dollars of investments follow.

Marc Filippino
Now how insulated is the market overall? And is it likely that the Kremlin would react?

Tommy Stubbington
Share price declines, on their own, are probably something that I imagine the Kremlin wouldn’t be too worried about. They’d be more worried about the sanctions hurting at the level of the whole economy. And on that basis, the Russian economy is fairly well insulated from sanctions by the high level of dollar reserves that their central bank holds, which, you know, should be able to protect the rouble from any kind of run from overseas investors. And so the answer is the, you know, the Russian economy is certainly more sanctions-proof than possibly it was in the past.

Marc Filippino
Tommy Stubbington is the FT’s capital markets correspondent.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

You can read more on all of these stories at FT.com. This has been your daily FT News Briefing. Make sure you check back tomorrow for the latest business news.

This transcript has been automatically generated. If by any chance there is an error please send the details for a correction to: typo@ft.com. We will do our best to make the amendment as soon as possible.

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Germany shut its final three nuclear plants (Emsland, Isar-2 and Neckarwestheim) when it ended commercial atomic power.

Title:

Content: Chernobyl and the war: how the events in Ukraine prompted Germany to abandon nuclear energy
Greenpeace activist at a protest against nuclear power in Berlin, Germany.
Photo by REUTERS / Nadja Wohlleben
The end of the atomic age.
This weekend, Germany, as promised, shut down its last nuclear power plants.
On Sunday night, the Germans decommissioned three stations: Izar 2 in Bavaria, Necarwesteim-2 in Baden-Württemberg and Emsland in Lower Saxony.
Nuclear power plants, which have recently produced about 5% of the country ’ s electricity, have been shut down as part of the so-called “energy transition. ”
Its goal is to completely switch to green energy by 2035, that is, to produce electricity from renewable sources.
Read also:
The decision to finally abandon the peaceful atom was given to the German authorities not easy.
A week ago, in political Berlin, there were calls to postpone the closure of the reactors for at least a few months, so as not to jeopardize the security of energy supply in the country.
Moreover, the temporary continuation of the work of the nuclear power plant of Chancellor Olaf Scholz was requested by both the opposition Christian Democrats and the liberals included in the ruling coalition.
Most Germans did not support the closure of the nuclear power plant.
According to sociologists, about 60% of the country ’ s residents called the government ’ s decision to abandon the peaceful atom wrong.
The reason is obvious: people are afraid of further increases in electricity prices, which have literally exploded.
Farewell to the atom: the Ukrainian factor
In fact, the decision to close all German nuclear power plants was made in 2011 by the government of Angela Merkel after the accident at the Japanese nuclear power plant Fukushima.
But the discussion about the abandonment of nuclear power began much earlier — in 1986, after the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
The accident sparked widespread protests against the use of the peaceful atom, and after Chernobyl, the now ruling Social Democratic Party announced that it would support the closure of all German nuclear power plants and enshrined this position in its political program.
Events in Ukraine also affected the timing of the closure of the nuclear power plant.
Germany planned to shut down all its nuclear power plants by the end of 2022.
However, after a full-scale Russian attack on Ukraine, the operation of the reactors was decided to extend for several more months.
Germany, which took the course of abandoning all Russian energy resources, was afraid of problems with energy supply.
Bavarian exception: will one of the richest lands in Germany be allowed to restart nuclear power plants
In the final rejection of the peaceful atom, it seems, not all German politicians believe.
At least regional.
The prime minister of Bavaria - one of the richest German states - Markus Seder has already said that he will ask the federal government to reconsider its decision.
And this is a few hours after the closing of the last nuclear power plant!
Seder wants the Bavarians to make an exception – allowed them to continue to operate the nuclear power plant “Izar-2 ”, located on the territory of the earth.
Like, now, in times of energy crisis, to abandon nuclear energy is not only risky, but also stupid.
That can be done a little later.
"Bavaria demands that the federal government take responsibility for the continued operation of nuclear power.
Until the crisis is over and the country has switched to renewable energy, we must use all forms of energy before the end of the decade.
Anyone who, like the ruling coalition, hopes that the next winter will be as mild as the previous one, acts extremely naive and careless for an industrial country like Germany, ” said Seder.
And he promised that in the case of a positive decision from Berlin, Bavaria is ready to take responsibility for the operation of the nuclear power plant.
The Bavarian prime minister thought about other lands.
It requires the government to develop and submit a plan for the reactivation of disconnected nuclear power plants.
If necessary, nuclear power plants will be able to resume their work quickly.
Official Berlin has already responded to the calls of the Bavarian Prime Minister – the Minister for Environmental Protection advised Zeder not to engage in political populism.
Non-peaceful atom: Germany wants sanctions against Russian nuclear energy
On the day of the closure of their own nuclear power plants, the Germans also mentioned the nuclear energy of the aggressor country of Russia.
Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Economy of Germany Robert Gabeck proposed to impose sanctions against the nuclear industry of the Russian Federation.
At the EU level.
For example, to include penalties in the next, already eleventh, sanctions package, the development and coordination of which the Europeans will begin in the near future.
“We have seen that Russia purposefully uses dependence in the energy sector for pressure.
Therefore, the federal government called on the European Commission to impose sanctions on the civilian nuclear sector.
Nuclear technology is an extremely sensitive area, and Russia can no longer be perceived as a reliable partner here, ” Gabek said.
What sanctions are we talking about – the politician did not specify.
However, in early April, after a visit to Ukraine, he proposed to impose sanctions against states that buy uranium from Russia for their nuclear power plants.
Not immediately, but after the transition.
“It is important to start and not be afraid of decisive actions in this area, ” Gabek explained.
The EU ’ s dependence on Russia ’ s nuclear sector is really serious.
About 20% of the uranium for their nuclear power plants EU countries receive from Russia.
Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic are completely dependent on these supplies, that is, 100%.
On the sale of uranium in the European Union, Russia earns 450 million euros a year.
Topical on the topic
Children Hub is a safe way to adapt Ukrainian children and migrants in the EU
Over a thousand children from 3 to 15 years old are given free employment in Warsaw
Help develop CHILDREN HUB

Those last reactors produced roughly 5% of Germany’s electricity before they were switched off.

The nuclear exit is part of Germany’s broader energy transition toward renewables and a plan described in some sources as aiming for a full switch to green energy by 2035.

Germany also has a government target of carbon neutrality by 2045 and a legislative goal for about 80% of electricity to come from renewables by 2030.

Title:

Content: Arabic & International
Send Save Print PDF
Denis Comitat to Al-Nahar: The presence of a German spokesperson in the Middle East is proof of our interest in spreading in the Arab world
Dr. Denis Komett, spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry in the Middle East and North Africa region and director of the German Media Center, told Al-Nahar that Russia ’ s war of aggression against Ukraine is a war against international law and must end it immediately, noting that this terrible war affects different regions and has caused explosion in food prices and food insecurity.
He stressed that Germany will not suffer from a shortage of gas supplies, noting that German gas storage facilities are currently more than 95% full.
He stressed the German government ’ s support for people facing financial challenges due to high energy bills, noting that a memorandum of understanding has been signed with Qatar that will allow gas supplies to Germany for 15 years.
as well as an energy partnership with the United Arab Emirates.
He also stressed that Germany is committed to its international obligations in the field of reception of refugees and that those allowed to stay have good opportunities to integrate into Germany.
To the text of the dialogue:
♪
How the Federal Government of Germany monitors the Russo-Ukrainian War
Its current and future causes and consequences?
What is Germany doing to end this war?
♪
We have said from the beginning that this war of Russian aggression against Ukraine is a war against international law, and Russia must end it immediately.
This terrible war affects very different regions: first of all, of course, it affects the people of Ukraine, destroying their livelihoods, and the infrastructure of their country.
But of course it also affects Europe, because of the influx of many people seeking protection, and we have already taken them in.
At the political level, through Russia ’ s brutal violation of the most basic norms of international law.
Globally, the impact of war has been demonstrated by exploding food prices and food insecurity.
As you can see, there are many effects, all of which are bad.
Germany wants the war to end immediately.
All the Russian president has to do is give the order to withdraw.
Alternative Energy
♪
How Germany will cope with what can be described as a severe winter crisis without Russian gas
Is Gulf gas among Germany ’ s alternative energy sources?
♪
I have to correct the idea that Germany will suffer a severe energy crisis next winter.
The war quickly turned our backs on Russian gas imports, leading to higher energy prices — a price we are politically willing to pay.
Therefore, the German government also supports people who face financial challenges due to high energy bills.
But we are also well prepared for the winter: German gas storage facilities are currently over 95% full.
In addition, we signed a memorandum of understanding with Qatar just last week, which would allow gas supplies to Germany for 15 years.
There is also an energy partnership with the United Arab Emirates.
Other important gas suppliers to Germany also come from Europe, for example from Norway.
At the same time, we are expanding our capabilities in the field of renewable energies.
Each installed solar panel makes us less dependent on Russian gas, and improves the results of our climate action.
A source of strength.
♪
The Russian-Ukrainian war and earlier conflicts in the Middle East (Libya, Iraq-Yemen, Tunisia, Syria) have caused a steady increase in the number of migrants to Europe in general and Germany in particular.
How to deal with the issue of migrants and refugees in Germany
To what extent are they a burden on infrastructure in Germany?
♪
The reasons for people moving to Europe have always been diverse: some are under severe political persecution, others are looking for a better economic life.
Germany is committed to its international obligations in the reception of refugees.
We want people who are allowed to stay here to have good opportunities to integrate into Germany.
Just last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took part in an event on “Germany as an immigration state. ”
The modern immigration state views diversity as a source of strength.
The modern immigration state recognizes individual life paths and promotes participation and inclusion from the outset.
It is important for us to create the framework conditions for how this can best work.
Furthermore, we support legal migration routes to Germany, as well as a large number of projects in so-called refugee-receiving countries (such as Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey as well as North Africa) in order to give refugees and migrants in these countries better prospects for the future.
Responsibilities of Germany
♪
Climate policy requires the whole world to join hands and industrially developed countries have a greater role to play. What assistance will Germany provide to the Middle East countries to overcome the consequences of this crisis?
♪
It is right that we must work together to contain the tragic effects of the climate crisis, which we are beginning to feel clearly today.
All countries must do more, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, so that we can achieve the Paris climate goals.
As a large industrialized country, Germany has a special responsibility here.
This is why we support many climate protection projects across the region.
Significant progress was also made at the COP27 Conference of the Parties, held in Sharm el-Sheikh.
There will be a fund that will support the countries most particularly affected in the event of climate damage.
Many countries have fought for it for decades, and Germany and the European Union have actively campaigned for it before and during the COP.
♪
Germany has set itself the goal of being climate-neutral by 2045.
Tell us about the package of actions associated with achieving this goal!
♪
In Germany this year, we released the most ambitious legislative package in decades to expand renewable energies.
By 2030, 80 percent of our electricity must come from renewable sources.
We have also created targets for different sectors, such as transportation, consumption, electricity, house construction or renovation and many other areas, which we will then implement one by one to achieve the big picture.
We are firmly focused on the goal of climate neutrality by 2045, as the German chancellor reiterated during his speech at COP27.
Spreading
♪
I mentioned before that the presence of a German speaker in the Middle East is a sign of the rapprochement between Germany and the Arab world.
Can we talk about the points of contact and rapprochement from the point of view of Germany?
And what are the political issues that clearly show this convergence?
♪
Germany and the Arab world are getting closer and closer together, and interest in Germany in the Arab world is very high, so many people have a lot of questions about Germany, its society and its politics.
The task of the regional speaker is to shed light on these specific issues, to show what Germany stands for politically and economically, to point out the particular priorities of our policies – examples this year are above all our support for Ukraine, Germany ’ s climate-related foreign policy, and feminist foreign policy – and also to explain a little about our society.
Of course, this works best in this region in Arabic, because we can reach many people by choosing the language, which is very important to me.
This way I connect with many different people from all over the region, which I consider very special.
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Phasing out nuclear (and a planned phase-out of coal) made Germany relatively more reliant on gas.

Before the war, Germany relied on Russia for about 55% of its gas imports.

Title:

Content: Russia ’ s invasion of Ukraine has pushed Germany into a strategic shift that is difficult to implement.
Russia ’ s invasion of Ukraine has pushed Germany into a strategic shift that is difficult to implement.
BERLIN (Reuters) - A year ago, Olaf Schulz announced a strategic shift in Germany after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, at a juncture that remains difficult to implement.
Remarks by the German chancellor at the recent Munich Security Conference reveal the extent of this change.
Schulz told other Western officials: “We bear the responsibility that a country the size, status and economic power of Germany must bear at times like this. ”
Germany, which has not forgotten the atrocities of the Nazis, has long been peaceful, sending troops to any European territory only during the NATO intervention in Kosovo in 1999.
Dreaming of a post-Cold War German-Russian consensus and German reunification, the country allowed its military capabilities to decline and was merely the first European economic power without taking on more responsibility for world security.
Rolf Nikel, vice president of the think-tank German Council on Foreign Relations, said: “Our perception that security can only be achieved with Russia, not against it, and this was a mistake. ”
With the start of the Russian offensive on February 24, 2022, all these facts fell.
Three days later, Schulz announced to the Bundestag the start of a “new era ” and set aside an extraordinary €100 billion to modernise the army.
After years of hesitation to commit to NATO funding targets, Berlin has promised to allocate more than 2 percent of its gross domestic product annually to the defence sector.
Germany ’ s energy model, a key sector of the economy, has also changed.
Before the war, manufacturers derived from Russia 55 percent of their need for gas and 35 percent of their need for oil.
Affordable gas was making the transition while alternative energies such as wind and solar regulations were being developed, following Berlin ’ s decision to phase out nuclear power in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
“We thought it was a process of mutual dependence: yes, we were dependent on supplies from Russia, but we assumed that it was also dependent on us as a vendor, ” Nikel said.
“We didn ’ t have an alternative plan. ”
To replace Russian gas pipelines, Berlin has been forced to extend the operation of nuclear power plants for a few months, temporarily restart a number of coal-fired power plants and open liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants to import the gas.
A year after the start of the Russian offensive, Germany became “independent of Russian gas, ” as Olav Schulz declared.
In fact, the country had no other choice as Russia gradually reduced deliveries via the Nord Stream underwater gas pipeline.
An explosion of unknown origin in September brought shipments to a halt after causing damage to pipes.
Without Russian gas, Germany is buying liquefied natural gas at much higher prices, which threatens to permanently weaken the competitiveness of some industrial sectors.
Strategic and military transformation is taking place with great difficulty.
Marie-Agnes Strak-Zimmermann, a lawmaker from the Liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), a member of the coalition government, said the strong impression left by Schulz ’ s speech on February 27 last year had “waned over the months ” because“ it took months for Germany to actually start supporting Ukraine, including with military equipment and weapons. ”
The weekly magazine “Der Spiegel ” recently wondered“ how long does Schulz want to hide behind (US President Joe) Biden? ”, expressing its displeasure at an adviser who thinks about security only under the American umbrella.
From artillery to battle tanks, Schulz faced criticism for being too slow.
Schulz has to take into account the reservations of part of society, as evidenced by a “manifesto for peace ” launched by far-left politician Sara Wagenickt and women ’ s rights activist Alice Schwarzer.
The statement, signed by 500,000 people for “compromises ” by Kiev and Moscow, calls for demonstrations on Saturday.
As for the leadership role that Germany now wants to take on, it “needs communication, ” says opposition lawmaker Jürgen Hart of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who criticizes Angela Merkel ’ s successor for his unheard and confusing remarks, which could lead to“ a loss of trust and commitment. ”
arabic

After Russia’s move on Ukraine, Germany froze approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.

Reports and experts said Gazprom appeared to withhold supplies to the European spot market and that this pushed up energy prices and damaged Gazprom’s reputation as a reliable supplier to Germany.

To cope with reduced Russian pipeline gas, Germany briefly extended the operation of some nuclear units, restarted some coal-fired plants and accelerated use of LNG terminals.

Two reactors were put into reserve until April rather than being fully retired at the end of 2022, according to reporting on government decisions.

Berlin also sought alternative supplies and deals, including a memorandum with Qatar for long-term gas deliveries and energy partnerships with the United Arab Emirates, and German gas storage facilities were reported to be over 95% full at one point.

Rising wholesale energy and gas prices have raised costs for households and industry and were described as threatening the competitiveness of some industrial sectors.

Parts of the political landscape and segments of the public pushed to delay shutdowns or to reopen reactors, with Bavaria’s premier Markus Söder publicly asking for an exception for Isar‑2 and calls to prepare plans to reactivate plants.

Polling reported that about 60% of Germans considered the decision to end nuclear power to be wrong.

The government also placed some Russian-linked energy companies and assets under trusteeship to protect supply security.

Commentators have warned that the combination of abandoning nuclear and cutting Russian fossil fuels risks creating new dependencies, for example on imported renewable equipment, according to opinion pieces.

Title:

Content: Economy
Named the consequences of the refusal of Germany from Russian oil and gas
NZZ: Germany will become dependent on Chinese electric generators in case of refusal of gas and oil from Russia
Germany ’ s refusal of Russian oil and gas will lead it to dependence on the supply of Chinese solar and wind power generators.
The consequences of the refusal of gas and oil from Russia called the columnist of the Swiss newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung (NZZ) Wolfgang Bock.
The journalist criticized the German authorities for their commitment to plans to completely abandon nuclear power plants.
“Germany ’ s hasty rejection of both nuclear and coal power almost pushed it into the arms of Russia, ” he said.
Bock believes that Berlin was wrong to rely on gas generation as a temporary solution in the transition to solar and wind farms and backup capacity in case of a shortage of electricity.
He was skeptical of plans to replace gas from Russia with Qatari LNG.
In his opinion, the idea of replacing gas with hydrogen is untenable due to the high electricity costs for its production.
The observer stressed that the production of solar panels and wind generators in Germany is in decline due to the dumping of Chinese manufacturers.
“Germany is sliding from one dependence to another: a green and carbon-free economy is impossible without massive imports from China, ” Bock said.
Earlier it was reported that Germany wants to return power plants running on coal and oil, if Russia stops the supply of natural gas to the country.
Bloomberg got acquainted with the emergency decree, which was approved by the head of the Ministry of economy of Germany Robert Habeck.
“That ’ s when I felt my strength! ”
The good tape is deactivated.
Welcome to the real world.

In short, Germany moved away from nuclear for safety and political reasons and has been managing the loss with more gas, LNG, temporary coal use, storage and new supply deals while the Russia‑Ukraine war disrupted Russian pipeline deliveries and prompted political and public pressure to reconsider nuclear options.


Roscosmos said the air leak from a segment of the International Space Station poses no risk to the crew or the orbital outpost.

A NASA official reported the rate of air escaping from the Russian Zvezda module had doubled under certain circumstances, increasing from about one pound per day to about two pounds per day.

Joel Montalbano said the leak was in an area in the aft end of the station and that it increased about a week before a recent Progress launch and docking.

Roscosmos said the situation is under control and is being constantly monitored, and that the station's aging structure increases the need for repair and maintenance.

A December 2021 report said the air leak had been detected more than two years earlier and that crew members had found several cracks and reported patching them, although pressure continued to fall.

Roscosmos also reported a coolant leak from the backup radiator circuit of the multipurpose laboratory 'Science' module and said the main thermal control circuit was operating normally.

So far crews have applied patches, and the affected hatch has been kept closed with the next opening expected in April while the rest of the station remains solid.

Conclusion: The leak was detected earlier; air loss in Zvezda increased to about two pounds per day; crews patched cracks and the affected area is closed and being monitored with no immediate danger.

Roscosmos said the air leak from a segment of the International Space Station poses no risk to the crew or the orbital outpost.

Title:

Content: 29 Feb, 2024 11:18

Russia comments on space station leak

A NASA official had previously reported that air loss from the Zvezda module had doubled

Air leaking from a segment of the International Space Station (ISS) poses no risk to its crew or the orbital outpost, the Russian space agency Roscosmos has said.

A NASA official had previously reported that the rate at which air was escaping from the satellite's Russian Zvezda module under certain circumstances had doubled. The situation is under control and being constantly monitored, the Roscosmos told Interfax on Wednesday, when asked about remarks by NASA’s ISS program manager, Joel Montalbano,.

”The aging of the station’s structure and the growing need for repair and maintenance work on board require a significant portion of the crew’s time,” Roscosmos said.

Montalbano mentioned the issue during this week’s briefing on the upcoming SpaceX Crew-8 mission, which is scheduled for launch on Friday.

”There is an area in the aft end of the International Space Station. [There is] a small leak. We’ve seen this leak increase about a week before the recent Progress launch and docking,” he said, referring to a Russian automatic supply freighter.

The volume of lost air has increased to about two pounds a day, compared to a pound a day previously, Montalbano said.

”The hatch is closed in that area. It’s not an impact on Crew-8, but I didn’t want anyone to be surprised, if they hear about that later,” he explained.

The use of the module for retrieving the Progress shipment didn’t pose any issues in terms of the leak, he said. The next opening of the hatch is expected in April. While it’s closed, the rest of the station is “solid.”

Technical issues at the ISS are being reported on a regular basis. Roscosmos has said the age of the station is a key reason why it is developing plans for a new purely Russian-manned orbital structure as an alternative to participating in the international project.

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A NASA official reported the rate of air escaping from the Russian Zvezda module had doubled under certain circumstances, increasing from about one pound per day to about two pounds per day.

Joel Montalbano said the leak was in an area in the aft end of the station and that it increased about a week before a recent Progress launch and docking.

Roscosmos said the situation is under control and is being constantly monitored, and that the station's aging structure increases the need for repair and maintenance.

A December 2021 report said the air leak had been detected more than two years earlier and that crew members had found several cracks and reported patching them, although pressure continued to fall.

Title:

Content: 22: 04, 31 December 2021
The Russian crew found the alleged site of air leakage on the International space station
It is located in the module “Star ”, said in“ Roscosmos ”.
The cosmonauts will begin repair work after the nearest Progress cargo ship will deliver the necessary funds to them, the state corporation said.
Today, during the congratulations of the Russian participants of the expedition to the ISS, the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, spoke about the problems faced by the astronauts.
Air leakage at the station was recorded more than two years ago.
Since then, crew members have found several cracks and reported that they were able to seal them.
However, the pressure on the station continued to fall.
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Roscosmos also reported a coolant leak from the backup radiator circuit of the multipurpose laboratory 'Science' module and said the main thermal control circuit was operating normally.

Title:

Content: Russian space corporation reports leak in its module of International Space Station

MOSCOW (AA): The Russian Space Corporation (Roscosmos) has reported a leak in its module of the International Space Station (ISS).

There was a leak of coolant from the backup radiator circuit of the multipurpose laboratory module “Science,” it said in a statement.

The main thermal control circuit of the module operates normally, providing comfortable conditions in the residential area and there is no danger to the crew and the station, it said.

So far crews have applied patches, and the affected hatch has been kept closed with the next opening expected in April while the rest of the station remains solid.

Conclusion: The leak was detected earlier; air loss in Zvezda increased to about two pounds per day; crews patched cracks and the affected area is closed and being monitored with no immediate danger.


An air leak in the Russian Zvezda module of the International Space Station was reported in February 2024.

NASA’s ISS program manager Joel Montalbano said the leak had increased about a week before a recent Progress launch and docking.

Montalbano reported that the rate of air loss from the Zvezda module had doubled.

The reported air loss increased to about two pounds per day from about one pound per day.

Roscosmos said the leaking air posed no risk to the crew or the station and that the situation was under constant monitoring.

The hatch in the affected aft area was kept closed while the rest of the station remained "solid," and the module was used to retrieve a Progress resupply ship without issue.

Roscosmos linked such technical problems to the station’s aging structure and the growing need for repair and maintenance.

Russian reporting from December 2021 said cosmonauts had found several cracks in the Zvezda module after a leak was first detected more than two years earlier and had patched some of them, but station pressure continued to fall.

Those earlier reports said repair work would begin after necessary supplies arrived on a Progress cargo ship.

Roscosmos separately reported a coolant leak from the backup radiator circuit of the Nauka (Science) multipurpose laboratory module while saying the main thermal control circuit was operating normally and there was no danger to the crew.

NASA indicated the next planned opening of the hatch in the affected area was expected in April 2024.

The provided context does not describe a completed, permanent repair that fully stopped the air leak as of the latest reports.

Summary: The leak was detected earlier and reappeared or grew by February 2024, likely linked to aging-related cracks in Zvezda; crews patched cracks and planned further repairs after Progress deliveries, the affected hatch was kept closed and monitored, and no definitive permanent repair is described in the provided context.

An air leak in the Russian Zvezda module of the International Space Station was reported in February 2024.

Title:

Content: 29 Feb, 2024 11:18

Russia comments on space station leak

A NASA official had previously reported that air loss from the Zvezda module had doubled

Air leaking from a segment of the International Space Station (ISS) poses no risk to its crew or the orbital outpost, the Russian space agency Roscosmos has said.

A NASA official had previously reported that the rate at which air was escaping from the satellite's Russian Zvezda module under certain circumstances had doubled. The situation is under control and being constantly monitored, the Roscosmos told Interfax on Wednesday, when asked about remarks by NASA’s ISS program manager, Joel Montalbano,.

”The aging of the station’s structure and the growing need for repair and maintenance work on board require a significant portion of the crew’s time,” Roscosmos said.

Montalbano mentioned the issue during this week’s briefing on the upcoming SpaceX Crew-8 mission, which is scheduled for launch on Friday.

”There is an area in the aft end of the International Space Station. [There is] a small leak. We’ve seen this leak increase about a week before the recent Progress launch and docking,” he said, referring to a Russian automatic supply freighter.

The volume of lost air has increased to about two pounds a day, compared to a pound a day previously, Montalbano said.

”The hatch is closed in that area. It’s not an impact on Crew-8, but I didn’t want anyone to be surprised, if they hear about that later,” he explained.

The use of the module for retrieving the Progress shipment didn’t pose any issues in terms of the leak, he said. The next opening of the hatch is expected in April. While it’s closed, the rest of the station is “solid.”

Technical issues at the ISS are being reported on a regular basis. Roscosmos has said the age of the station is a key reason why it is developing plans for a new purely Russian-manned orbital structure as an alternative to participating in the international project.

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0:00
27:58
0:00
26:56

NASA’s ISS program manager Joel Montalbano said the leak had increased about a week before a recent Progress launch and docking.

Montalbano reported that the rate of air loss from the Zvezda module had doubled.

The reported air loss increased to about two pounds per day from about one pound per day.

Roscosmos said the leaking air posed no risk to the crew or the station and that the situation was under constant monitoring.

The hatch in the affected aft area was kept closed while the rest of the station remained "solid," and the module was used to retrieve a Progress resupply ship without issue.

Roscosmos linked such technical problems to the station’s aging structure and the growing need for repair and maintenance.

Russian reporting from December 2021 said cosmonauts had found several cracks in the Zvezda module after a leak was first detected more than two years earlier and had patched some of them, but station pressure continued to fall.

Title:

Content: 22: 04, 31 December 2021
The Russian crew found the alleged site of air leakage on the International space station
It is located in the module “Star ”, said in“ Roscosmos ”.
The cosmonauts will begin repair work after the nearest Progress cargo ship will deliver the necessary funds to them, the state corporation said.
Today, during the congratulations of the Russian participants of the expedition to the ISS, the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, spoke about the problems faced by the astronauts.
Air leakage at the station was recorded more than two years ago.
Since then, crew members have found several cracks and reported that they were able to seal them.
However, the pressure on the station continued to fall.
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Those earlier reports said repair work would begin after necessary supplies arrived on a Progress cargo ship.

Roscosmos separately reported a coolant leak from the backup radiator circuit of the Nauka (Science) multipurpose laboratory module while saying the main thermal control circuit was operating normally and there was no danger to the crew.

Title:

Content: Russian space corporation reports leak in its module of International Space Station

MOSCOW (AA): The Russian Space Corporation (Roscosmos) has reported a leak in its module of the International Space Station (ISS).

There was a leak of coolant from the backup radiator circuit of the multipurpose laboratory module “Science,” it said in a statement.

The main thermal control circuit of the module operates normally, providing comfortable conditions in the residential area and there is no danger to the crew and the station, it said.

NASA indicated the next planned opening of the hatch in the affected area was expected in April 2024.

The provided context does not describe a completed, permanent repair that fully stopped the air leak as of the latest reports.

Summary: The leak was detected earlier and reappeared or grew by February 2024, likely linked to aging-related cracks in Zvezda; crews patched cracks and planned further repairs after Progress deliveries, the affected hatch was kept closed and monitored, and no definitive permanent repair is described in the provided context.