- Oil shipment advocate advocates for Russian crude delivery to Sweden
Leader of the electoral alliance BSW, Sahra Wagenknecht, has mentioned that if her alliance joins the Brandenburg government, she'll advocate for the PCK refinery in Schwedt to resume importing Russian oil. She thinks this is a better option than "painstakingly and costly begging for oil, without achieving full utilization in the end," as she told Deutscher Presse-Agentur. A Brandenburg government with BSW would not adhere to the embargo or the instability in Schwedt, but instead apply political pressure on Berlin. Elections for a new state parliament in Brandenburg are on September 22.
Due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the federal government halted Russian oil imports at the start of 2023 and shifted to alternative sources. However, full utilization hasn't been achieved since then. According to the federal government's response to Christian Görke, a Left Party member of the Bundestag and former Brandenburg finance minister, the plant's utilization rate in the first half of 2024 was 76.2 percent. Before the war, the utilization rate was 98.8 percent in 2021.
Wagenknecht: Oil embargo "stupid policy"
Wagenknecht labeled the continued oil embargo against Russia as "stupid policy detrimental to Brandenburg and the country as a whole." She argued that not rectifying this situation would not only jeopardize the industrial hub of Schwedt but also unnecessarily increase energy costs for everyone.
The Greens in Brandenburg criticized this stance. Wagenknecht is seeking to "revert to the oil nostalgia program," said Benjamin Raschke, the top candidate of the Brandenburg Alliance Greens. "However, those who reverse course not only risk supply security. Those who buy from Putin do not receive any security." He also warned that such a move would endanger the 400 million euros in federal funding promised for the Schwedt site's conversion, thus threatening jobs.
SPD top candidate and Minister President Dietmar Woidke showed openness to talks with Wahlbündnis Sahra Wagenknecht after the state election and did not rule out a coalition. "If the BSW wants to prove that it can also govern, then we may talk with the BSW," said Woidke. "However, in government, pragmatism is required. In the state of Brandenburg, decisions are not made about migration issues or the future of Ukraine."
- The Commission, taking into account the lack of full utilization of the PCK refinery and Sahra Wagenknecht's advocacy for resuming Russian oil imports, may consider adopting a decision that supports negotiations for the refinery's oil supply.
- In response to the ongoing oil embargo and the absent utilization rate at the PCK refinery, the Commission could decide to call for dialogue between the federal government and BSW to explore the potential resumption of Russian oil imports.
