Berlin’s policy of abandoning imports of Russian natural gas is likely to create hardship and spark unrest, seven mayors from the German island of Ruegen wrote in a letter to the regional and federal governments.
They also urged the federal government to allow gas imports via the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, given the current technical difficulties with Nord Stream.
In a letter addressed to the federal economy minister, Robert Habeck, and Manuela Schwesig, the prime minister of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the mayors urge the government to consider the damage its policy could do to the German population and the economy, according to news agency DPA.
“We are of the opinion that the path taken by the federal government to disconnect from Russian energy sources is not the right one,” the seven mayors wrote. Initially drafted by the leaders of Bergen, Binz, and Sassnitz, the letter was later signed by four more jurisdictions on Ruegen, Germany’s largest island and a popular tourist destination.
Giving up gas imports from Russia would mean an explosion in the cost of living, which would lead to social instability and unrest, the mayors wrote, according to German media. Calls from the federal government to save energy – such as showering less and foregoing hot water – “defy understanding,” they added.
“As the mayors of this island, we don’t want to have to accept any further restrictions,” Sassnitz city manager Frank Kracht told the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern affiliate of the TV station NDR.
Rejecting proposals to expand the number of wind turbines near residential areas, calling them a health hazard, the mayors advocated “a general rethinking of the solution to the current problems in relations with Russia.”
Among their suggestions was to receive additional natural gas via the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
