Germany nationalized gas giant Uniper amid the energy crisis

The German gas giant Uniper is to be nationalized, in an effort to secure energy supplies amid the war in Ukraine.

The government of Germany took on a 98.5% stake in Juniper at a cost of €8.5 billion as per the deal. Europe's biggest importer of Russian gas is Germany. The country has been squeezed particularly as Russia has reduced its energy supplies in recent months. Klaus-Dieter Maubach, the chief executive of Uniper said that the deal will help the role of the company as "a system-critical energy supplier".

Before Russia invaded Ukraine it supplied Europe with approximately 40% of its natural gas. But now by gradually cutting off supplies, the country has responded to Western sanctions. Russia halted supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, at the start of this month. The country claimed that the pipeline needed repair. However, later it said that the supplies would not resume until sanctions were lifted.

In Germany, Uniper is the biggest buyer of Russian gas. The gas giant, Uniper has had to replace Russian supplies with alternatives from the open market in recent months, and thus, prices have soared.