German Chancellor Olaf Scholz landed in Montreal on Sunday evening for a three-day visit to Canada. The energy crisis in Europe must be at the heart of this high-calibre diplomatic approach.
The massive Luffwaffe plane landed on the tarmac at Montreal airport just before 7 p.m. Sunday. The chancellor who succeeded Angela Merkel last December came out, solemn, flanked by a dozen dignitaries. Among them: the vice-chancellor, Robert Habeck, responsible for the energy file in Germany.
The role of the latter will be crucial in this diplomatic trip, since Germany is in spite of itself embarked on a gas war against Russia. Following the invasion of Ukraine and subsequent European support, Vladimir Putin’s state turned off the energy tap in retaliation. The Federal Republic of Germany bought 55% of its gas in Moscow before the war, against 35% at the beginning of June. So we’re racking our brains to find other ways to heat homes as winter approaches.
The Chancellor’s visit will revolve around the help that Canada, a major energy producer, can offer his country. An agreement on the production and export of hydrogen is expected to be signed Wednesday in Stephenville, on the island of Newfoundland. This pact should set deadlines for the export of hydrogen to Germany.
A consortium of four partners, World Energy GH2, plans to build a plant in the Newfoundland community that will use wind energy to produce hydrogen and ammonia for export. If approved, the project will be the first of its kind in Canada.
Such an agreement would open the door to trade for several years with Germany. It is not a short-term solution to the energy crisis in Europe.
Not just energy
Before going to Newfoundland and Labrador, the German Chancellor will spend Monday in Montreal.
He and his economic delegation will stop more precisely at the offices of Mila Montreal, an artificial intelligence research center, to discuss the role of AI in health and the environment.
The next day, Mr. Scholz will head to Toronto. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is due to participate in the “Virtual Summit of Heads of State and Government on the International Platform for Crimea”. This meeting brings together leaders to coordinate the international response to the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula into Russian rule.
“The platform has much deeper repercussions this year given Russia’s illegal and unwarranted invasion of Ukraine,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.
It is only on Wednesday that the Chancellor will travel to the Maritimes to complete his Canadian tour. This is the first visit by the German head of state to Canadian soil since Angela Merkel’s visit in 2015.
The Turbine of Discord
On the menu of diplomatic discussions will also appear the famous turbine of the Russian gas giant Gazprom.
This turbine fits into the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and allows Russia to supply natural gas to Germany. It was being repaired at the Siemens facility in Montreal, the only place in the world capable of repairing and maintaining equipment. Despite economic sanctions that prohibited its delivery into Russian hands, the turbine has since been delivered to Germany to be transported to its destination, but Russian authorities have so far refused to accept it.
Between the lines, Ukrainian diplomats have urged Canada and Germany to reconsider their decision to exempt this turbine from Western sanctions.
In an interview, Ukrainian Ambassador to Canada Yulia Kovaliv said it is clear that Russia will not accept the turbine Siemens delivered to Germany. She accused Russia of using the gas supply as a means to terrorize Europe.
“Our position is very clear: we believe this exemption should be rescinded immediately,” she said.
Orest Zakydalsky of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress said the chancellor’s visit “will be an opportunity for them to reverse the policy and cancel the permit.”
Despite this international discord, Canada and Germany seem to share a warm relationship, judging by the friendly hug between the German Chancellor and Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister, on the tarmac at Montreal.
With The Canadian Press
and Agence France-Presse