Germany warns EU to expect economic cost from Russian oil embargo

Germany warns EU to expect economic cost from Russian oil embargo

Germany has warned that EU consumers should brace for a big economic hit and higher energy prices as Berlin said it was willing to back an embargo of Russian oil to punish Moscow for its war on Ukraine.

Europe was prepared to bear the strain of cutting its use of Russian crude, said Robert Habeck, Germany’s economy minister and deputy chancellor. But he said the move should be properly prepared and should consider the high dependency of some EU countries on Russian supplies.

“We will be harming ourselves, that much is clear,” he said ahead of an emergency meeting of EU energy ministers that is debating an embargo on Russian oil.

“It’s inconceivable that sanctions won’t have consequences for our own economy and for prices in our countries,” he said. “We as Europeans are prepared to bear [the economic strain] in order to help Ukraine. But there’s no way this won’t come at a cost to us.”

Habeck said it was important for Europe not to be “faced with economically unmanageable scenarios”. Germany had made “great progress” in finding alternatives to Russian coal and oil, “but other countries may need more time”.

EU energy ministers were meeting on Monday to discuss an expected sixth package