Russian giant Gazprom, the largest gas extraction and trading company in the world, halted all its activities in Germany as of 1 April 2022.

Before Russia’s intervention in Ukraine, Gazprom operated the Nord Stream gas pipeline and supervised the construction of a second gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2. The company supplied two-thirds of Germany’s gas requirements, in particular for the automobile industry.

When the “Straussians” launched their measures aimed against the European Union but misrepresented as “sanctions against Russia”, Moscow demanded that its gas be paid for in rubles, which European companies refused to do. As the contracts had been drawn up in euros, it was legitimate for buyers to reject the currency change. In response, Gazprom undersold its German subsidiary responsible for these contracts. Having received euros, the subsidiary was unable to pay Gazprom in rubles and is currently on the verge of bankruptcy.

French companies, which also refused to pay in rubles, were protected by their government which ordered the French banks in charge of the transaction to convert the euros into rubles before making the transfer to Gazprom.

Germany has a reserve of 3.9 billion cubic meters of gas. If this situation were to continue, its automobile industry would come to a standstill, leading to the collapse of its national economy.