Berlin in the position of "for" and "against" anti-Russian sanctions
The German government demonstrated this political rip-off last week when it finally became clear that the US Congress would still pass a law whose anti-Russian sanctions make it impossible for European companies to participate in the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline. In Berlin, they perceived it as a threat to their economic interests, energy security and strongly opposed the introduction of such restrictions. At the same time, Germany itself called on the European Union to impose sanctions against Russia because of the scandalous supply of Siemens turbines to the Crimea. They should relate to four individuals and three Russian companies.
Swung at the ruble - hit a penny
History This got its continuation. The German government was supported by European officials. They appointed an extraordinary meeting of the European Commission to decide on retaliatory sanctions against the United States. In the European media, reports about the intentions of the European commissioners to restrict the access of US companies to the European Union’s credit resources flashed over.
Observers were skeptical of these plans. Several points were noted. First of all, Europeans are not ready for a conflict with the United States. The leaders of the countries of Europe, always led in a political context with partners from across the ocean, have already developed a submission to the Americans and their interests at the level of a reflex. It will take time to overcome this mood.
The second deterrent was the existence of contradictions within the European Union itself, including the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline, against which the law passed by the US Congress was so clearly sharpened. It is known that the countries of Eastern Europe, and above all - Poland, have long and consistently come out with criticism of the new gas pipeline.
This critic has its own motives. Perhaps the main thing in this series is the fear of the Young Europeans that Germany will turn into a gas hub of the European Union. Then their existing dependence on the Germans can increase fatally. In such conditions, it is difficult for Berlin to count on the support of EU countries for initiatives to condemn the new anti-Russian sanctions of Washington.
The Germans understood this first and began to correct their rhetoric. A week ago, the head of the German Foreign Ministry, Sigmar Gabriel, stated that sanctions are becoming “an instrument of US industrial policy” that ensures their competitive advantage in the world. Gabriel urged Europeans not to allow Americans to interfere in the energy plans of the European Union.
Now they are talking about the fact that the West should not give the world a signal that it is splitting on the issue of Russian sanctions. In Berlin, they suddenly decided that in Washington they had listened to the opinion of the German government and softened their position on new sanctions against Russia. In the course went the formula that in respect of European companies will be "sanctions-light", that is, very weak.
On Wednesday, Martin Schaefer, a representative of the German Foreign Ministry, summarized this position. He said that the German authorities see "significant improvements" in the draft of the new American sanctions against Russia compared with the previous version. This was the result of successful work by the European Commission and the German government.
Except Schaefer, no one noticed these “improvements”. The hopes of the representative of the German Foreign Ministry that the law will be adjusted in the Senate and the administration of the US President are not really supported by anything. Discussions on the sanctions law are indeed continuing in Washington. However, only in part of the restrictions relating to the DPRK. They were not in the first version of the law proposed by the Senate. Now the new provisions require the approval of the legislators of both chambers.
On Wednesday, the already mentioned extraordinary meeting of the European Commission took place. Contrary to media forecasts, no real decisions were made on it, but only threatened with the possibility of retaliatory measures. “American law may inadvertently unilaterally influence the interests of the EU in the field of energy security,” commented Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the Commission, on the outcome of the meeting. “Therefore, the European Commission decided today to be ready to respond appropriately within a few days if our concerns are not adequately addressed.”
Siemens vs Russia
But the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU Member States in Brussels agreed on sanctions because of the scandal with Siemens turbines in the Crimea. It happened in June, when Reuters reported that, despite the restrictions imposed by the European Union, four turbines were manufactured at the St. Petersburg factory Siemens Gas Turbine Technologies in the Crimea.
Later, Siemens confirmed that all four gas turbine units were produced for the project in Taman. However, contrary to the agreements, the units were delivered to the Crimea for thermal power plants under construction there. Siemens condemned such arbitrariness and threatened that they would suspend deliveries of generating equipment to Russian state-owned companies, as well as withdraw from Interravtomatika enterprise. In addition, because of violations of the contract for the supply of turbines, the German concern filed a lawsuit in the Moscow Arbitration Court.
As expected, the list of sanctions includes four individuals and three companies. Details are not being announced yet, since the final decision should be made by the Council of Europe. According to the newspaper Kommersant, the sanctions may affect Andrei Tcherezov, the Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation who oversees Crimea, as well as three companies that are part of Rostec and their leaders.
Andrei Tcherezov has already said that EU sanctions will not affect plans to launch a thermal power plant in the Crimea. The Russian authorities do not comment on the conflict and the imposition of sanctions. A spokesman for the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, forwarded this question to the companies in question. Sands, meanwhile, stressed that the turbines, because of which a scandal arose, were produced in Russia and by a Russian company.
And this is the key question. In the 90s, when Russia was extremely open to the world and, as they say, to all winds, Siemens entered the assets of many Russian enterprises. Simply put, bought them for cheap. This number also included factories specializing in the production of electric machines, traction engines and generators.
Since then, Siemens has only strengthened its position and brought its production volume at Russian enterprises to 1,2 billion euros. The company has different directions - the production of complex household appliances, main electric locomotives, high-speed trains. As for the production of turbines, through Siemens Gas Turbines Technology LLC and the Power Machines company associated with it, the concern actually became a monopolist in the Russian gas turbine market.
Experts point out that by placing high-capacity gas turbines on the Russian market, Siemens, however, restricted Russian specialists from accessing their technical documentation and in many ways deprived them of their independence. Such a situation suited the concern, ensured its dominance in Russia.
The case of turbines for the Crimean thermal power plants under construction showed Siemens managers that not everything is under their control today. At a minimum, the Russian Ministry of Energy has an impact on the production of power generating equipment located in the country's enterprises, including those belonging to the German concern.
In the fever of Siemens, he spread the “duck” as if Vladimir Putin personally gave guarantees to the concern’s managers that his turbines would not fall into the Crimea. When this number did not work, Siemens turned for help to the German government. This is how the topic of new European sanctions against Russia appeared.
It is not as harmless to Siemens as it seems. “Sanctions are imposed not only by Germany, sanctions must be imposed that are binding on all EU members,” said Prague-based independent analyst Yuri Fedorov in an interview with the BBC. - But then it turns out this picture: they offended the German corporation, in this case Siemens, but they could offend any other. As a result of this resentment, French corporations will also be forced to abandon their own projects in Russia. ”
There is another side to the question. The management of the Federal Antimonopoly Service in St. Petersburg from one of the public organizations received a statement about the initiation of a case against the Siemens concern on violation of the Russian antitrust law. Lawyers have already commented on the possible outcome of this case.
If collusion (between Siemens Gas Turbine Technologies and Power Machines) is proven on the gas turbine production market, Siemens may be fined up to 100% of its profits. It's about billions of euros. Another question is whether the Russian government will take advantage of this opportunity or will it prefer a long way out of a high-profile conflict?
Be that as it may, we are dealing with two-faced German politics. In one case, justifying energy security, the Germans are protesting against Washington’s anti-Russian sanctions. In the other, Germany, through sanctions to Russia itself, is trying to retain the opportunity to influence the development of the Russian energy industry. Obviously, such a policy towards the Russian Federation has no prospects.
On Monday, Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters that all the equipment that the German Siemens company supplies to Russia can be supplied by other global companies.
Swung at the ruble - hit a penny
History This got its continuation. The German government was supported by European officials. They appointed an extraordinary meeting of the European Commission to decide on retaliatory sanctions against the United States. In the European media, reports about the intentions of the European commissioners to restrict the access of US companies to the European Union’s credit resources flashed over.
Observers were skeptical of these plans. Several points were noted. First of all, Europeans are not ready for a conflict with the United States. The leaders of the countries of Europe, always led in a political context with partners from across the ocean, have already developed a submission to the Americans and their interests at the level of a reflex. It will take time to overcome this mood.
The second deterrent was the existence of contradictions within the European Union itself, including the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline, against which the law passed by the US Congress was so clearly sharpened. It is known that the countries of Eastern Europe, and above all - Poland, have long and consistently come out with criticism of the new gas pipeline.
This critic has its own motives. Perhaps the main thing in this series is the fear of the Young Europeans that Germany will turn into a gas hub of the European Union. Then their existing dependence on the Germans can increase fatally. In such conditions, it is difficult for Berlin to count on the support of EU countries for initiatives to condemn the new anti-Russian sanctions of Washington.
The Germans understood this first and began to correct their rhetoric. A week ago, the head of the German Foreign Ministry, Sigmar Gabriel, stated that sanctions are becoming “an instrument of US industrial policy” that ensures their competitive advantage in the world. Gabriel urged Europeans not to allow Americans to interfere in the energy plans of the European Union.
Now they are talking about the fact that the West should not give the world a signal that it is splitting on the issue of Russian sanctions. In Berlin, they suddenly decided that in Washington they had listened to the opinion of the German government and softened their position on new sanctions against Russia. In the course went the formula that in respect of European companies will be "sanctions-light", that is, very weak.
On Wednesday, Martin Schaefer, a representative of the German Foreign Ministry, summarized this position. He said that the German authorities see "significant improvements" in the draft of the new American sanctions against Russia compared with the previous version. This was the result of successful work by the European Commission and the German government.
Except Schaefer, no one noticed these “improvements”. The hopes of the representative of the German Foreign Ministry that the law will be adjusted in the Senate and the administration of the US President are not really supported by anything. Discussions on the sanctions law are indeed continuing in Washington. However, only in part of the restrictions relating to the DPRK. They were not in the first version of the law proposed by the Senate. Now the new provisions require the approval of the legislators of both chambers.
On Wednesday, the already mentioned extraordinary meeting of the European Commission took place. Contrary to media forecasts, no real decisions were made on it, but only threatened with the possibility of retaliatory measures. “American law may inadvertently unilaterally influence the interests of the EU in the field of energy security,” commented Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the Commission, on the outcome of the meeting. “Therefore, the European Commission decided today to be ready to respond appropriately within a few days if our concerns are not adequately addressed.”
Siemens vs Russia
But the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU Member States in Brussels agreed on sanctions because of the scandal with Siemens turbines in the Crimea. It happened in June, when Reuters reported that, despite the restrictions imposed by the European Union, four turbines were manufactured at the St. Petersburg factory Siemens Gas Turbine Technologies in the Crimea.
Later, Siemens confirmed that all four gas turbine units were produced for the project in Taman. However, contrary to the agreements, the units were delivered to the Crimea for thermal power plants under construction there. Siemens condemned such arbitrariness and threatened that they would suspend deliveries of generating equipment to Russian state-owned companies, as well as withdraw from Interravtomatika enterprise. In addition, because of violations of the contract for the supply of turbines, the German concern filed a lawsuit in the Moscow Arbitration Court.
As expected, the list of sanctions includes four individuals and three companies. Details are not being announced yet, since the final decision should be made by the Council of Europe. According to the newspaper Kommersant, the sanctions may affect Andrei Tcherezov, the Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation who oversees Crimea, as well as three companies that are part of Rostec and their leaders.
Andrei Tcherezov has already said that EU sanctions will not affect plans to launch a thermal power plant in the Crimea. The Russian authorities do not comment on the conflict and the imposition of sanctions. A spokesman for the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, forwarded this question to the companies in question. Sands, meanwhile, stressed that the turbines, because of which a scandal arose, were produced in Russia and by a Russian company.
And this is the key question. In the 90s, when Russia was extremely open to the world and, as they say, to all winds, Siemens entered the assets of many Russian enterprises. Simply put, bought them for cheap. This number also included factories specializing in the production of electric machines, traction engines and generators.
Since then, Siemens has only strengthened its position and brought its production volume at Russian enterprises to 1,2 billion euros. The company has different directions - the production of complex household appliances, main electric locomotives, high-speed trains. As for the production of turbines, through Siemens Gas Turbines Technology LLC and the Power Machines company associated with it, the concern actually became a monopolist in the Russian gas turbine market.
Experts point out that by placing high-capacity gas turbines on the Russian market, Siemens, however, restricted Russian specialists from accessing their technical documentation and in many ways deprived them of their independence. Such a situation suited the concern, ensured its dominance in Russia.
The case of turbines for the Crimean thermal power plants under construction showed Siemens managers that not everything is under their control today. At a minimum, the Russian Ministry of Energy has an impact on the production of power generating equipment located in the country's enterprises, including those belonging to the German concern.
In the fever of Siemens, he spread the “duck” as if Vladimir Putin personally gave guarantees to the concern’s managers that his turbines would not fall into the Crimea. When this number did not work, Siemens turned for help to the German government. This is how the topic of new European sanctions against Russia appeared.
It is not as harmless to Siemens as it seems. “Sanctions are imposed not only by Germany, sanctions must be imposed that are binding on all EU members,” said Prague-based independent analyst Yuri Fedorov in an interview with the BBC. - But then it turns out this picture: they offended the German corporation, in this case Siemens, but they could offend any other. As a result of this resentment, French corporations will also be forced to abandon their own projects in Russia. ”
There is another side to the question. The management of the Federal Antimonopoly Service in St. Petersburg from one of the public organizations received a statement about the initiation of a case against the Siemens concern on violation of the Russian antitrust law. Lawyers have already commented on the possible outcome of this case.
If collusion (between Siemens Gas Turbine Technologies and Power Machines) is proven on the gas turbine production market, Siemens may be fined up to 100% of its profits. It's about billions of euros. Another question is whether the Russian government will take advantage of this opportunity or will it prefer a long way out of a high-profile conflict?
Be that as it may, we are dealing with two-faced German politics. In one case, justifying energy security, the Germans are protesting against Washington’s anti-Russian sanctions. In the other, Germany, through sanctions to Russia itself, is trying to retain the opportunity to influence the development of the Russian energy industry. Obviously, such a policy towards the Russian Federation has no prospects.
On Monday, Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters that all the equipment that the German Siemens company supplies to Russia can be supplied by other global companies.
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