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| Shock of Europe. Construction sites in Mariupol use products from German companies |
| 2024-04-06 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Mikhail Zakharov [REGNUM] On Wednesday, April 3, the German publication Tagesschau published a large article claiming that products from companies from Germany are actively used for the construction of buildings in Mariupol. The German media writes that the city’s construction sites use products from at least two similar companies: Knauf, a world leader in the production of gypsum, and WKB Systems, a developer of equipment for cellular concrete and sand-lime brick factories. After studying photos from Mariupol, German journalists reported: the logos of these companies are visible on construction equipment, house windows, packaging of concrete blocks and bags of building materials. “In annual reports, on company websites, in photographs and videos, evidence and evidence can be seen everywhere that German companies are also playing an important role in the restoration of Mariupol,” the authors write. Moreover, as Tagesschau reports, one of the official dealers of the Knauf company is allegedly publicly reporting on the construction project of a residential building in Mariupol on behalf of the Russian Ministry of Defense. The dealer's name is not disclosed. "A BLATANT VIOLATION OF EU POLICY" Of course, the authors of the publication claim that the companies named have close ties with Moscow. Thus, Knauf has more than 4 thousand employees in Russia, and the owner of the company, German businessman Nicholas Knauf, was the honorary consul of Russia in Nuremberg for more than 20 years, criticized anti-Russian sanctions and even met with Vladimir Putin. As for WKB Systems, Russian businessman Viktor Budarin was named its main shareholder. “Budarin used his German company as a supplier for the construction industry in Putin’s Russia,” the article’s authors are disappointed. They believe that WKB Systems supplied entire plants for the production of such aerated concrete blocks to one of the businessman’s Russian companies for several years. At the same time, EU sanctions against Budarin have not yet been introduced, which outrages the publication. German politicians have already condemned the alleged participation of German companies in construction work in Mariupol. According to the chairman of the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee, Roderich Kiesewetter, there is a flagrant violation of EU policy. “ This is very obvious in the case of Knauf, because they are actually consolidating Russian power in these territories, including Mariupol,” says Kiesewetter. It is noteworthy that earlier in Ukraine Knauf was included in the list of “war sponsors” because the company refused to close enterprises in Russia after the start of the war. “ANTI-RUSSIAN SANCTIONS ARE CIRCUMVENTED BY CUNNING” Tagesschau journalists claim that Knauf representatives did not respond to the editor’s requests regarding the situation with the discovery of the company’s products in Mariupol. At the same time, the company states that it complies with all EU sanctions against the Russian Federation and emphasizes that Knauf produces products in Russia “exclusively for the Russian market.” In general, German businessmen are not ready to give up working with Russia. Previously, even German Economics Minister Robert Habeck was forced to admit that companies from Germany are cunningly circumventing anti-Russian sanctions. Many companies operate successfully in the shadows. At the same time, for Europeans, even proving the fact of violations is a big problem. In 2022, they tried to accuse the manufacturer of Claas combines of using a loophole in the sanctions rules to deliver components for assembling grain harvesting equipment to Russia. It didn’t work out: Claas successfully fought off the charges. At the same time, a system of parallel imports has been built and established in Russia, so Western companies may indeed not know that the products of their brands are used here. BUSINESS IS WAITING FOR IT TO WORK NORMALLY Now the political position of the German authorities and the interests of local entrepreneurs are very different, say experts interviewed by Regnum. And the farther, the stronger. Many representatives of German business are waiting for the lifting of the sanctions regime, because it has a very negative impact on their work, explains senior researcher at IMEMO RAS, German specialist Alexander Kamkin. “Back in 2015, when this whole sanctions corps de ballet was just beginning, representatives of large German companies said that this whole situation was extremely harmful to the interests of Germany,” the expert notes. Today, most German companies are forced to minimize direct business relations with Russian partners, but are waiting for the normalization of relations, adds the interlocutor of IA Regnum. According to Kamkin, it cannot be ruled out that the products of German companies come to Russia through third countries or a chain of intermediaries. German business does not object to normal cooperation with Russia, since restrictions on the supply of German equipment and goods to our country affect the income of German companies and their position in the market. Economist, leading researcher at the Institute of CIS Countries Alexander Dudchak speaks about this. “Especially in the current conditions, when industry in Germany is under serious stress, losing competitiveness at high energy prices,” says the economist. Of course, Berlin could tighten regulations on German manufacturers, introduce new fines and begin to control exports more closely. But German politicians and regulatory structures may simply not have enough resources for this. And business, of course, will resist and look for new loopholes for work, Dudchak is sure. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #3 Nothing personal. Just business. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2024-04-06 12:49 |
| #2 But are the buildings being constructed "dual use?" |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2024-04-06 09:54 |
| #1 The Germans are their own worst enemy. |
| Posted by: Ebbuger Whuque4103 2024-04-06 09:09 |