EU industry bosses want Russian gas supplies restored – Reuters
Germany’s chemical industry is in a “severe crisis” and in dire need of a return to cheap Russian gas, Reuters reported on Monday, citing executives in the sector. French energy majors Engie and Total have also told the agency that they could see a restart of imports of hydrocarbon from Russia.
With a turnover of €225.5 billion in 2023, chemicals and pharmaceuticals are Germany’s third-largest industry, behind automotive and machinery and equipment, according to the European Chemical Industry Council.
Is automotive and machinery and equipment another name for War Industry? Does the War Industry hide it's inventories among the cars, tractors, and various types of machinery?
The EU committed to eliminating Russian gas imports by 2027, following the escalation of conflict between Kiev and Moscow three years ago. Brussels aimed to replace them with more expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar and the United States.
And if you are looking for a reason for the proxy war in Ukraine, that is one of the major reasons. The top reason, however, is to keep that War Industry inventory moving and that filthy money rolling into War Industry Oligarchs' Swiss bank accounts.
Talks with Qatar have stalled however, and Washington’s shift away from the EU under US President Donald Trump, along with his tariff campaign, have left bloc chiefs concerned about the reliability of American supplies.
“We are in a severe crisis and can’t wait,” Christof Guenther, managing director of InfraLeuna told Reuters. InfraLeuna hosts Dow Chemical and Shell plants and is one of Germany’s biggest chemical manufacturing clusters.
“It’s a taboo topic,” Guenther added, saying that many of his colleagues have agreed on the need to go back to Russian gas.
Before 2022, Russia met up to 60% of Germany’s demand for natural gas. The loss of an affordable supply has led to increased energy costs, resulting in production cuts and job losses across the country’s industrial sector.
“We need Russian gas, we need cheap energy - no matter where it comes from,” said Klaus Paur, managing director of Leuna-Harze, a petrochemical maker at Leuna Park.
French energy firms Engie and Total have also spoken out in favor of resuming gas purchases from Russia.
“If there is a reasonable peace in Ukraine, we could go back to flows of 60 billion cubic meters (bcm), maybe 70, annually…” Didier Holleaux, executive vice-president at Engie, told Reuters.
The EU used to import 150 bcm of pipeline gas from Russia every year, which covered 40% of its needs. After the Ukraine conflict is settled, the country could account for 20-25%, Holleaux said.
”Europe will never go back to importing 150 bcm…but I would bet maybe 70 bcm,” Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne suggested.
Russia has long reiterated that it is a reliable energy supplier, with the Kremlin saying in January that Moscow would resume gas deliveries to the EU, provided that there are buyers.
Russian gas reached Germany and on to the wider EU via the Nord Stream undersea pipelines, which were damaged in a sabotage attack in 2022. However, one string of Nord Stream 2, remains intact.
The EU still receives Russian gas via the TurkStream pipeline, which runs through Turkey and the Balkans.
A key pipeline that delivered gas to Italy, Slovakia and Hungary via Ukraine was closed after Kiev refused to extend a transit agreement in January, and blew up a gas metering station on the border.
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Head of world’s largest hedge fund fears global financial system collapse
Billionaire investor Ray Dalio has warned that the United States is facing economic risks far greater than a typical recession, arguing that US President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies and ballooning debt could trigger a breakdown of the global financial system.
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, the founder of Bridgewater Associates said the world is at a critical juncture, marked by profound changes in the political, economic, and geopolitical order – factors which he says have historically led to severe crises.
“I think that right now we are at a decision-making point and very close to a recession,” Dalio said. “And I’m worried about something worse than a recession if this isn’t handled well.”
Dalio explained that the US economy is confronting several overlapping challenges: rising debt, internal political divisions, growing geopolitical tensions, and shifts in global power.
“Such times are very much like the 1930s,” he warned. “If you take tariffs, if you take debt, if you take the rising power challenging the existing power – those changes in the orders, the systems, are very, very disruptive.”
Asked about the worst-case scenario, Dalio pointed to a potential breakdown of the dollar’s role as a store of wealth, combined with internal conflict beyond the norms of democratic politics and escalating international tensions – potentially even military conflict.
“That could be like the breakdown of the monetary system in ‘71. It could be like 2008. It’s going to be very severe,” Dalio said. “I think it could be more severe than those if these other matters simultaneously occur.”
While acknowledging that tariffs could serve as a useful tool to bring back manufacturing and generate revenue, Dalio cautioned that the method of implementation matters deeply.
“How that’s done – whether in a practical and stable way, with quality negotiations – or whether that’s done in a chaotic and disruptive way that produces great conflict, makes all the difference in the world,” he said.
Describing Trump’s recent tariff moves as “very disruptive,” Dalio said the real test will come after the current 90-day negotiation period ends. “What was put there is like throwing rocks into the production system,” he said, warning of “enormous” impacts on global efficiency and costs.
Goldman Sachs raised the odds of a US recession within the next 12 months to 45% last week, following Trump’s April 2 announcement of a minimum 10% tariff on all imports – but before he placed a three-month hold on further “reciprocal” duties of 11% to 50% targeting dozens of nations. China, however, was still hit with a 145% import duty – and retaliated with a 125% levy of its own.
Just the other day, I was discussing the apparent madness of Trump's economic plan with a friend, and I came to the conclusion that the plan was basically sound for America, a disaster for the rest of the world, and a disaster for America if he continues to force it at a reckless pace and with the bullying attitude he has displayed so far.
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