Appeal: European import ban on Russian oil and gas!

Foto: Unsplash

More than 80 scholars, politi­cians, busi­ness­people and civil society repre­sen­ta­tives have signed an appeal to the German govern­ment to stop oil and gas imports from Russia. Remark­ably, the coalition of signa­to­ries was collected within 24 hours and for the first time includes prominent entre­pre­neurs. What unites them in the face of Russia’s war of aggres­sion against Ukraine is the wish to live up to Germany’s historic respon­si­bility of “never again” allow a war to happen. Absorbing the conse­quences of a short-term energy boycott requires a massive effort. But the cost of half-hearted action could be much higher.


A CALL TO ACTION

Let’s stop financing the war — Immediate import ban on Russian oil and gas!

Berlin, 25 March 2022 — We call on the German govern­ment to lobby the European Union for an immediate boycott of fossil fuels from Russia. The embargo should be limited in time until the Russian army withdraws from Ukraine. It is the most effective economic leverage to stop Putin’s war of aggres­sion and to halt a human­i­tarian cata­strophe the likes of which our continent has not seen since 1945.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, the EU has imported almost €20 billion worth of Russian oil, gas and coal. Even though the Russian armed forces are paid in roubles, these foreign curren­cies keep the war machine running.

There is no doubt that a complete import freeze is an enormous feat. It requires a variety of measures to develop new energy sources and save energy, to priori­tise scarce natural gas resources, to achieve social balance and to safeguard energy-intensive indus­tries. The sooner such an embargo is imposed, the sooner it can be relaxed. The COVID pandemic has shown that we can overcome such chal­lenges when we act together.

We are convinced that Europe must do more in the face of the massive attack on the European order. The European community must do every­thing in its power to stop the devas­tating war against Ukraine, the destruc­tion of entire cities and endless suffering of the civilian population.

If we see the sacri­fices made by the people of Ukraine in these weeks, if we take seriously the justified concerns in Moldova, Georgia and the Baltic states, then the free West must resolutely use the means at its disposal. Putin’s revan­chism must be stopped before he sets all of Europe on fire.

Looking back on its history, Germany has repeat­edly vowed that there must NEVER AGAIN be wars of conquest and crimes against humanity. Today the hour has come to honour this vow. We must try every­thing to stop Putin’s war machine with our political and economic means.

This is about our respon­si­bility before history and Europe’s future. We must act. Now.

The signa­to­ries are expressing them­selves here as citizens, not as repre­sen­ta­tives of insti­tu­tions, companies or bodies.

Dr. Thomas Enders, President DGAP, Munich

Ralf Fücks, former Senator, Center for Liberal Modernity, Bremen

Charlotte Knobloch, former Vice President of the World Jewish Congress

Dr. Norbert Röttgen, Member of the German Bundestag, former Federal Minister, Berlin

Dr. Constanze Stelzen­müller, Brookings Insti­tu­tion, Wash­ington, DC

Dr. Christian Jacobs, Chairman of the Board of Jacobs, Bremen, Germany

Igor Levit, pianist, Berlin

Prof. Dr. Hedwig Richter, Univer­sity of the Federal Armed Forces, Munich

Mikhail Khodor­kovsky, former political prisoner, London

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Ischinger, former State Secretary, former head of MSC, Munich

Prof. Dr. Carlo Masala, Univer­sity of the Federal Armed Forces, Munich

Prof. Dr. Karl Kaiser, Cambridge

Dr. Daniela Schwarzer, Executive Director Open Society Foun­da­tions, Berlin

Sebastian Turner, entre­pre­neur and publicist, Berlin

Prof. Dr. Jan Schnel­len­bach, Bran­den­burg Technical Univer­sity, Cottbus

Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Bachmann, Univer­sity of Notre Dame, Indiana

Marieluise Beck, former Parlia­men­tary Secretary of State, Center for Liberal Modernity, Bremen

Prof. Dr. Timothy Garton Ash, Univer­sity of Oxford

Peter Jungen, Managing Partner, Cologne

Roderich Kiesewetter, Member of the German Bundestag, Berlin

Prof. Dr. Karolina Wigura, Kultura Liberalna Foun­da­tion, Warsaw

Kai Whit­tacker, Member of the German Bundestag, Berlin

Markus Meckel, last Foreign Minister of the GDR, Berlin

Michael Gahler, MEP, Strasbourg

Prof. Dr. Benjamin Moll, London School of Economics, London

Hildegard Bentele, MEP, Strasbourg

Rebecca Harms, former Member of the European Parlia­ment, Hannover

Dr. Fritz Felgen­treu, former Member of the German Bundestag, Berlin

Werner Schulz, former Member of the European Parlia­ment, Berlin

Elmar Brok, former Member of the European Parlia­ment, Bielefeld

Prof. Dr. Tanja Börzel, Cluster of Excel­lence SCRIPTS, Free Univer­sity, Berlin

Robert Ketterer, Ketterer Kunst KG, Munich

Prof. Dr. Michael Zürn, SCRIPTS spokesperson, Science Center, Berlin

Katja Leikert, Member of the German Bundestag, Berlin

Prof. Dr. Nicole Deit­el­hoff, Director HSFK, Frankfurt

Prof. Dr. Thomas Risse, Director BIRT, Free Univer­sity, Berlin

Dr. Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff, Publicist, Berlin

Gerald Knaus, European Stability Initia­tive, Vienna-Berlin

Bernd Ziesemer, Jour­nalist and Columnist, Capital, Hamburg

Dr. Thorlef Spickschen, entre­pre­neur, Seeheim-Jugenheim

Dennis Radtke, MEP, Strasbourg

Dr. Ruprecht Polenz, former Member of the German Bundestag, Münster

Dr. Peter Hoch, banker, Munich

Dr. Fred Kempe, President and CEO Altantic Council, Wash­ington DC

Prof. Dr. Jan Andrzej Zielonka, Oxford and Ca Foscari Univer­sity of Vernice

Prof. Dr. Armin Grunwald, Institute for Tech­nology Assess­ment, Karlsruhe, Germany

Marianne Birthler, former chair­woman of Bündnis 90/​Die Grünen, Berlin

Alexander Bonde, Foun­da­tion Manager and former Minister, Freiburg i.Br.

Prof. Dr. Moritz Schu­larick, Univer­sity of Bonn and Sciences Po, Paris

Dr. Helga Trüpel, former Member of the European Parlia­ment, Bremen

Jacques Rupnik, Research Director, Sciencies Po, Paris

Volker Beck, former Member of the German Bundestag, Tikvah Institute, Berlin

Jakub Klepal, Forum 2000, Prague

Olga Dolburt, Phil­an­thropist, Nadav Foun­da­tion, Tel Aviv

Dr. Ulrich Wilhelm, former director, Berlin

Dr. Anna Kuchen­becker, ECFR, Berlin

Judy Dempsey, Carnegie Europe, Editor-in-Chief Strategic Europe, London

Knut Abraham, Member of the German Bundestag, Berlin

Andrew Levi, Tech Investor, former diplomat, Edinburgh/​Berlin

Dr. Peter Liese, MEP, Strasbourg

Lukas Beckmann, Chairman of the Super­vi­sory Board Correctiv GmbH, Berlin

Markus Koob, Member of the German Bundestag, Berlin

Wolfgang Grassl, architect, Gransee

Prof. Monika Grütters, Member of the Bundestag, Berlin

Prof. Dr. Sabine Döring, philoso­pher, Univer­sity of Tübingen

Peter Beyer, Member of the Bundestag, Berlin

Wolf Lotter, jour­nalist, author, keynoter, Köngen

Prof. Dr. Heribert Hirte, former Member of the German Bundestag, Berlin

Annette Widmann-Mauz, Member of the German Bundestag, Berlin

Prof. Dr. Andrea Gawrich, political scientist, Univer­sity of Gießen

Elisabeth Motschmann, former State Coun­cillor, Bremen

Jens Motschmann, pastor, Bremen

Dr. Mikko Huotari, Director Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS), Berlin

Prof. Dr. Christian Bayer, legal scholar, Univer­sity of Bonn

Michaela Derra, jour­nalist, Bamberg

Johannes Steiniger, Member of the German Bundestag, Berlin

Prof. Dr. Martin Aust, Eastern European History Univer­sity of Bonn

Michael Brand, Member of the German Bundestag, Berlin

Prof. Dr. Armin Nassehi, Chair of Sociology, LMU Munich

Martin Patzelt, former Member of the German Bundestag, Berlin

Frank Helmen­stein, Mayor, Gummersbach

Carsten Müller, Member of the German Bundestag, Berlin

Monica Wüllner, trade union secretary, Stuttgart

Karl-Matthias Klause, Diplomat, Director EBRD, London

Korbinian Kohler, Entre­pre­neur, Tegernsee

Prof. Dr. Gunther Hellmann, Political Scientist, Univer­sity of Frankfurt

Prof. Dr. Gwendolyn Sasse, Humboldt Univer­sity, Berlin

Silke Hermann, entre­pre­neur, Wiesbaden

Prof. Dr. Antje Wiener, Political Scientist, Univer­sity of Hamburg

Dr. Rainer Ohler, Senior Strate­gists, Munich

Gustav Meibauer, Assistant Professor Inter­na­tional Relations, Univer­sity of Nijmegen

Dr. Sönke Ahrens, Faculty of Education, Univer­sity of Duisburg-Essen

Dr. Stefan Eisel, former Member of the German Bundestag, Bonn

Prof. Dr. Chris­tiane Woopen. Medical ethicist, Univer­sity of Bonn

Dr. Patrick Heinemann, lawyer and legal historian, Freiburg i.B.

Michael Jahn, free­lancer, Grossbettlingen

Prof. Dr. Jonas Dovern, empirical macro­econ­o­mist, Univer­sity of Erlangen-Nuremberg

Prof. em. Antonia Grunen­berg, Bremen

Dr. Armin Sieber, Sieber Senior Advisors, Munich

Dr. Ernst-Jörg von Studnitz, former Ambas­sador (including Moscow), Königswinter

Kerstin Müller, former Minister of State, Berlin

Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker, Member of the German Bundestag, Berlin

Textende

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