German Industry Suffers From Bureaucracy Impeding Transition From Russian Gas -Association

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th August, 2022) German companies switching from gas to other fuels are facing legal uncertainties for lack of timely regulation, Chemical Industry Association (VCI) CEO Wolfgang Grose Entrup said on Thursday.

"We need the green light from Berlin for the responsible local approval authorities," Entrup told Wirtschaftswoche news agency.

According to the VCI head, the government should forgo current bureaucratic procedures and let the companies report only the changes in the type of fuel they use.

"For a limited period of time, companies should only be required to report fuel changes to authorities. Now every day and every watt counts," Entrup said.

Holger Loesch, deputy director general of the Federal Association of German Industry (BDI), also said in an interview with the media that many companies are ready to switch from gas to other fuels as soon as possible, but currently this is hampered by slow approval processes.

In mid-June, Russian energy giant Gazprom reduced gas supplies via Nord Stream 1 to 40% of the pipeline's capacity due to delays in maintenance work on turbines by German and Canadian companies, forcing EU countries to tap into winter gas reserves and consider returning to coal production.

Following the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in February, Berlin declared intention to reduce its reliance on Russian energy in the near future. Germany hopes to stop coal and oil imports from Russia by the end of the year and end its dependence on Russian gas by the middle of 2024.