Angela Merkel says she has NO regrets over her decision to bind Germany to Russian gas which has now led to spiralling inflation and economic chaos
- Merkel left office with 55 per cent of German energy coming from Russia
- Now Germany is trying to wean itself off the Kremlin amid Ukraine war
- The former chancellor said she believed her trade deals were right ‘at the time’
Angela Merkel has said she has no regrets about her decision to wed Germany to Russian energy.
The former chancellor has been accused of leaving Europe’s biggest economy completely dependent on the whims of Vladimir Putin.
Germany and other European countries are now trying to end their reliance on Russian oil and gas after Putin sent troops into Ukraine.
Angela Merkel has said she has no regrets about her decision to wed Germany to Russian energy (pictured today at the Gulbenkian Foundation award ceremony, in Lisbon, Portugal)
Last year, 55 per cent of German gas imports came from Russia after Merkel pursued trade ties with Russia and backed the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline, even after Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014.
‘You always act in the time in which you find yourself,’ she told reporters in Lisbon when asked about her government’s approach to Russia.
Merkel, who retired from politics last year after 16 years as chancellor, said she had never believed in the notion of ‘Wandel durch Handel’, or bringing about change through trade.
‘In this respect, I do not regret decisions at all, rather, I believe that it was right from the perspective of the time,’ she said, adding that cheap Russian gas had allowed Germany to push ahead with phasing out nuclear and coal.
A tugboats get into position on the Russian pipe-laying vessel ‘Fortuna’, being used for construction work on the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline
However, Germany has now delayed these plans as it scrambles to replace throttled gas deliveries from Russia.
German inflation, largely driven by skyrocketing energy prices, is running at 10.9 per cent and the government has committed to billions of euros in spending to help households and businesses pay for rising energy bills.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, designed to double gas imports from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea, was shelved in the days leading up to the invasion.
‘This brutal invasion by Russia has now brought a change. This is a turning point,’ Merkel said in reference to Germany’s energy policy.
This was a task for Germany’s new government, led by Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, to deal with, she said.
Merkel was speaking on the sidelines of an event to announced the winner of the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, for which she led the panel of judges.