04.08.2022, Paris.
The energy crisis in Europe called Germany’s economic hegemony into question, economic observer Jean-Michel Quatrepoint said in an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro published on August 4.
The expert noted that Germany waged on Russian gas, not on nuclear power. The European energy crisis called into question this economic model and, consequently, German hegemony in the region.
Quatrepoint said Paris was hampered by a huge trade deficit and high foreign debt to take Berlin’s place. In addition, France has been weakened by its abandonment of industry and its long-standing reluctance to develop its own nuclear power industry.
Many European countries could come to Germany’s aid, but in return they should demand an extension of the last German nuclear power plant. This would provide the country with energy for the winter period, the expert believes.
He noted that the mechanisms of European solidarity do not yet work smoothly, as shown by Hungary’s position. “However, the de facto mechanism of solidarity already exists: we actually buy electricity from Germans, which, by the way, comes from coal-fired power plants,” he stressed.
The expert noted that the parameters of this solidarity are changing and recalled how during the crisis in Greece the European Union and especially Germany treated this country. “But we obviously can’t treat Germany the way we treated the Greeks,” he stressed.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
