German Chancellor Olaf Scholz refused to fully nationalize the former German unit of Gazprom, because he does not want to annoy Russian President Vladimir Putin.
At full nationalization Gazprom Germania insisted Economy Minister Robert Habeck, but Scholz rejected the proposal. He worries that such a decision can anger the Russian president and lead to aggravation with the supply of Russian gas.
Instead, the German government took temporary custody of the company, which was under sanctions, until the end of September. Now the term of custody decided to extend indefinitely.
Oracle means that Germany’s energy regulator assumes the role of shareholder and will be able to take the necessary measures to ensure the firm’s supply, but the German government does not become the owner of the company.
In addition, Gazprom’s “daughter” is planned to be renamed Securing Energy for Europe GmbH. Also, the company will allocate financial assistance – a multi-billion dollar loan to protect the firm from bankruptcy. Maybe 9-10 billion euros.
The German government believes that such actions retain their influence on part of the critical energy infrastructure and “prevent the threat of energy security.”