BERLIN, April 6. /TASS/. The full refusal to import Russian gas amid the developments in Ukraine would stress-test the European Union, which would lead to unforeseen consequences, President of the German Industrial Union (BDI) Siegfried Russwurm said in an interview with the DPA news agency on Wednesday.
"The full refusal to import Russian gas, which cannot be promptly replaced by other suppliers, would become a huge stress-test for the EU with unforeseen consequences for security of supplies, [economic] growth, jobs and our political ability to act," he pointed out.
That said, German industrialists support the sanctions line of the federal government and the European Union against Russia, even on introducing an embargo against Russian coal supplies, Russwurm noted. "The full embargo [on imports] of Russian coal across Europe goes far beyond the framework of the reduction in Russian coal supplies, which companies have already made. The implementation is not simple and has its price, though the decision is more than clear amid the escalating violence," he stated.
The BDI chief considers it necessary to impose tighter targeted sanctions against Moscow. "This concerns coal, which may be replaced by supplies from other countries on the global market and in principle be brought to consumers along the existing transport infrastructure," he said, adding that now the German government together with its European partners should solve logistics issues without harming the economy in the event Russian coal imports are halted.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the German association of coal importers Alexander Bethe told the Funke media group that "the Russian coal may be replaced by coal from other countries, such as the US, South Africa, Australia, Colombia, Mozambique and Indonesia." Therefore, it is possible to fully abandon Russia’s coal by next winter, he said, adding that prices would be far higher in this case though.