GERMANY PERSPECTIVE

Berlin covered the veto's collapse with the relief of a country still dependent on the Druzhba pipeline to feed the Schwedt refinery in Brandenburg. Deutsche Welle reported that Russia had announced it would block Kazakh oil flows to Germany through the very same pipeline -- a decision that directly threatens PCK Schwedt, a refinery Berlin nationalized in 2022 after seizing it from Rosneft. Germany finds itself in an uncomfortable position: it supports the loan to Ukraine and sanctions against Moscow, but its energy supply still runs through Russian-controlled infrastructure. The Hungarian veto was lifted only after Ukraine repaired the pipeline -- the same pipeline Germany needs. Tagesschau mentioned the loan in a news flash without deep analysis, a sign that Berlin treats the matter as diplomatic routine rather than strategic turning point. Yet the 20th sanctions package targets Russia's energy, banking and trade sectors -- measures that will also hit German companies still exposed to the Russian market. The Zeitenwende that Scholz launched and Merz inherited collides with a structural reality: cutting Russia off economically means cutting yourself.