Michael Glos, Federal Minister of Economics and Technology and Chairman of the EU Council of Ministers: "I view the closure of the important Druzhba Pipeline with concern. I expect supplies through the pipeline to be fully resumed as quickly as possible.
I welcome the convening of the Oil Supply Group by EU Commissioner Piebalgs. The German Presidency of the European Council will work vigorously to ensure that the restriction on the oil deliveries does not cause bottlenecks in the supply of European companies and consumers. I call on the Russian and Belarusian agencies to fulfil their delivery and transit commitments.
The incident shows once again that a balanced energy portfolio is vital for a high level of energy security, and that there must be no one-sided dependencies. This is a key aspect of the new EU energy policy to be discussed at the Spring Summit of the EU."
Minister Glos on the impact on Germany: "For Germany, the current situation is not dramatic. The refineries have sufficient stocks of crude oil, so that our supply is safeguarded even if there are lengthy delivery shortfalls."
Germany imports around 100 million tonnes of crude oil a year. Of this amount, 20 million tonnes are supplied via the Druzhba Pipeline.
