GERMANY PERSPECTIVE

Berlin covers the loan breakthrough with the relief of a country that still depends on the Druzhba pipeline to supply the Schwedt refinery in Brandenburg. Deutsche Welle reports that Russia has announced it will block Kazakh oil flows to Germany through this same pipeline—a decision that directly hits 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 depends on infrastructure controlled by Russia. The lifting of the Hungarian veto is tied to Ukraine's repair of the pipeline—the same pipeline Germany needs. The Tagesschau mentions the loan in a brief newsflash without in-depth analysis, suggesting Berlin views the matter as a diplomatic formality rather than a strategic turning point. Yet the 20th sanctions package targets Russian energy, banking, and commercial sectors—measures that will also affect German companies still exposed to the Russian market. Scholz's, and then Merz's, Zeitenwende meets a structural reality: cutting Russia economically also means cutting yourself off.