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Germany takes over Gazprom subsidiary

November 14, 2022, 4:01

Ukraine conflict : In future in German hands: the German Gazprom subsidiary, now under the name of Sefe.Open detailed view

In German hands in the future: the German Gazprom subsidiary, now under the name Sefe. (Photo: imago stock&people/imago/Steinach)

The German government uses legal tricks to secure the former Gazprom Germania - in order to provide it again with sufficient capital for the tough gas business

By Michael Bauchmüller

Following the gas group Uniper, the German government is now also taking over the German subsidiary of the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom. The aim is to secure gas supplies, the Federal Ministry of Economics said on Monday. Otherwise, the over-indebted company would have been threatened with insolvency.

Gazprom Germania has been under federal trusteeship since June. The company trades in gas, operates gas networks and is responsible for around one-fifth of Germany's gas storage facilities. Since the Federal Network Agency took over the management, the company has been called Safe Energy for Europe, or Sefe for short. However, Sefe, like the gas importer Uniper, which was also nationalized, subsequently accumulated massive losses - if only because of the loss of Russian supplies in the face of significantly higher gas prices.

Sefe still had profit and capital assets of over one billion euros. But equity most recently amounted to minus 2.1 billion euros. "There is therefore a commercial balance sheet over-indebtedness," it now says in the justification for the takeover, which was published in the Federal Gazette on Monday afternoon. "A large number of business partners are showing reluctance to enter into and continue business relations with Sefe." A change of ownership, including an increase in equity, is now intended to change that - and in such a way that no money flows to the Russian owners.

To this end, the federal government is resorting to a number of legal tricks. For example, the revenue and capital reserves will be released "to reduce the balance sheet loss to be offset. The capital stock is reduced from 225 million euros to zero - only to be increased again to 225 million euros the very next moment. This time, however, this share capital is held by a specially founded "Securing Energy for Europe Holding". This step, in turn, is to be entered "ex officio without delay" in the commercial register of Sefe. The end result is a "debt-equity swap" that will give Sefe more than seven billion euros in equity in the future. "A complete change of ownership will take place," says the notice in the Federal Gazette. That's how fast it can happen when the federal government wants to take over the reins.

Until now, the federal government had shied away from expropriating Russian firms, partly for fear of retaliation against German companies. Now it argues potential threats to the commonwealth should Sefe collapse. But the Russian owners can sue, "within a month of the announcement."

Xi Jinping returns to diplomatic stage seeking dialogue with the West

The Chinese president met with US President Joe Biden on Monday for more than three hours, and on Tuesday morning with French President Emmanuel Macron. Next up is the Australian prime minister, for the first time in six years.

By Frédéric Lemaître (Beijing (China) correspondent), Brice Pedroletti (Bali (Indonesia), special correspondent) and Philippe Ricard (Bali (Indonesia), special correspondent)

Published on November 15, 2022 at 10h56, updated at 12h04 on November 15, 2022

Like a sportsman long absent from competitions due to a zero-Covid strategy, Chinese President Xi Jinping decided to make his international comeback in two stages this fall. First a warm-up in Uzbekistan, in mid-September, where he was to meet up with a group of friendly countries gathered within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. That was an opportunity to cross paths with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. This week, though, comes the real competition, the global arena: the G20 in Bali, Indonesia. In the absence of his Russian partner, the Chinese leader is confronting the West, more than eight months after the outbreak of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

As a curtain raiser, the meeting with US President Joe Biden on Monday, November 14, kept its promise. The two leaders, who have talked remotely five times since 2020, shook hands without masks. Their meeting lasted more than three hours.

They chose to start in a friendly matter. Mr. Biden, buoyed by the mid-term elections from which he emerged as a partial winner, is not the type to humiliate his opponents, unlike his predecessor Donald Trump. "I'm really glad to be able to see you again in person," he said at the beginning of the meeting in the hotel where Mr. Xi is staying. The latter, now assured of staying in power as long as he wishes, is in no hurry. His goal is to continue modernizing his country so that it becomes the world's leading power in 2049. "We need to find the right direction for the bilateral relationship going forward and elevate the relationship," the Chinese leader said.

Russia strives to avoid G20 isolation as China and India distance themselves

Traditional allies voice concern over Ukraine war as draft communique highlights damage to world economy

Patrick Wintour in Bali

Tue 15 Nov 2022 08.26 GMT

Russia has been battling to prevent diplomatic isolation at the G20 summit in Bali as its traditional allies – China and India – started to distance themselves from the war in Ukraine, which a draft communique said had caused untold economic damage to the world.

Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, and Xi Jinping, the president of China, both voiced concern about the war without breaking from their previous defence of Moscow.

US officials were still pushing for the final communique to pin more blame on Russia. The draft includes language noting “most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine” and stresses that “it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy”.

The summit’s host, Indonesia, has been trying to keep references to the war to a minimum, arguing the G20 is not a security forum and that reiteration of well known positions will prevent progress on issues such as global debt and post-pandemic recovery.

The summit being held on the Indonesian island of Bali marks the first time the G20 leaders have met since Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow has described as a “special military operation”. The war and worries over global inflation, food and energy security have overshadowed the meeting.

In his address, Xi warned against the “weaponisation” of food and energy, adding that he opposed nuclear war in all circumstances, remarks that cast a shadow over Russia’s repeated threats to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

“We must firmly oppose politicisation, instrumentalisation and weaponisation of food and energy problems,” Xi said.

Modi said it was necessary to recognise the UN had failed as a multilateral institution, putting greater pressure on the G20 to find solutions. He said it was time for a ceasefire and for diplomacy to come to the fore.

G20: Zelenskiy calls for 'just' end to Ukraine war, with no compromises

In a video address that the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, carefully missed by staying in his hotel, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said it was time for the war to be stopped, saying it had caused thousands of deaths. But he stressed that a ceasefire was only possible when armed Russian troops left Ukraine territory.

Wearing his now-familiar green T-shirt, he said: “I am convinced now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped. It will save thousands of lives.”

Speaking in Ukrainian to the single most influential audience he has addressed since the war started, Zelenskiy tried to pitch himself as a man prepared to reach an agreement with Russia but only on terms that protected Ukrainian sovereignty, and recognised the valour with which his troops had fought to protect their homeland.

In a pitch to Xi, he condemned “the crazy threats of nuclear weapons that Russian officials resort to. There are and cannot be any excuses for nuclear blackmail,” he added, pointedly thanking the “G19” – excluding Russia – for “making this clear”.

According to Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, Xi told the US president, Joe Biden, at their bilateral meeting on Monday evening that “nuclear weapons should not be used and nuclear wars should not be fought”.

The Ukrainian leader also called for the expansion and indefinite extension of a grain deal brokered by the UN and Turkey in July.

Much of the diplomatic arm-twisting at the G20 focuses on the terms by which Russia will allow the deal to continue. It has already suspended cooperation once, saying the west had not done enough to persuade insurers and shipping companies to distribute Russian wheat and fertilisers.

Russia and Ukraine account for about 30% of the world’s wheat and barley exports, a fifth of its maize, and more than half of all sunflower oil. The Russian invasion had blocked 20m tonnes of grain in its ports until the deal was reached in July. Russia says the export deal has only been partially implemented.

But Russia says the deal is lopsided because western sanctions have indirectly continued to cast a shadow over the exports of Russian grain by affecting payments, insurance and shipping.

The grain deal has been a rare patch of diplomatic sunlight, but is up for renewal this Friday.

The deal allowing exports past the Russian navy from three Ukrainian seaports has been critical to lowering grain prices.

The dispute over the future of the grain deal is part of a wider diplomatic battle between Russia and the west to convince sceptical opinion in the global south that right is on their side. In his speech, Zelenskiy, fresh from visiting Kherson, a city recaptured from Russia this week, gave little ground on the terms for any peace settlement.

He said such an agreement could be signed at an international conference, adding that Russia would be required to hand over some of its assets as compensation for the task of rebuilding Ukraine. In a symbolic vote, the UN general assembly voted on Monday to approve a resolution recognising that Russia must pay reparations to Ukraine, in a non-binding move backed by 94 of its 193 members.

Summary (BBC UK)

1. A draft G20 declaration, seen by news agencies, condemns the Ukraine war and says it is exacerbating fragilities in the global economy

2. We won't get to see the finalised statement until tomorrow - and Russia has already attacked the "politicisation" of the declaration

3. UK PM Rishi Sunak has specifically criticised Russia's "barbaric" war in Ukraine

4. Sunak tells Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov - who is attending the G20 in Bali instead of President Putin - that his country should "get out" of Ukraine

5. It is the first time a British prime minister has directly confronted a senior Russian official since the invasion began

6. Earlier on Tuesday Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky appeared at the G20 via videolink, calling for the war to be stopped

7. Meanwhile, Sunak told reporters that China posed a "systemic challenge" to the UK - but stopped short of calling it a national security threat

8. On Monday Joe Biden held his first meeting with China's leader Xi Jinping since becoming US president