In hock to Moscow: exploring Germany’s woeful energy policy

Don’t expect Berlin to wean itself off Russian gas any time soon

Habeck and Scholz
‘Habeck (left) can crisis; Scholz (right) can only Scholz’
(Image credit: Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images)

“Like a deer in the headlights,” Germany’s government has been “caught in the trap of Russian gas”, said Le Monde (Paris). For two decades, Berlin has prided itself that getting the bulk of its gas – now some 40% – from Russia was a win-win policy, helping both to lower energy costs and draw Russia closer to Europe.

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