The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum opened on Tuesday. The annual event, hosted by the Russian government since 1997, drew representatives from more than 130 countries, including delegations from the United States. German companies attended for the first time since sanctions were imposed following the invasion of Ukraine.
Two members of the Bundestag from the AfD -- Markus Frohnmaier and Steffen Kotré -- also attended, on invitation from within the Russian president's circle, according to German reporting. Politicians from the CDU, SPD, and the Greens described the participation as a security risk. CDU foreign affairs spokesman Jürgen Hardt said the presence of German business representatives was directed against German and European foreign policy interests. Frohnmaier rejected the criticism.
Fox Security Advisory, which assessed alternative transport applications for the Druzhba pipeline corridor in a note reviewed by The Prompt in May, was represented at the forum.
Germany's digital infrastructure sector has entered a period of difficulty. Metrofibre, a fibre optic operator based in Düsseldorf, filed for insolvency last month following the withdrawal of its financing partners. Deutsche Glasfaser reduced its expansion target from six million households to 3.2 million; planned rollouts in Hamburg's Bergedorf and Wandsbek districts have been suspended. Construction subcontractors Phoenix Engineering and Convert have also ceased trading.
Germany placed second-to-last among EU member states for fibre coverage in 2024. The EU average that year stood at 70 percent. Germany's figure was approximately 50 percent. Of those households with access to street-level fibre, approximately one in four has subscribed.
In August of last year, the German broadband association Breko reported that rollout was running ahead of government targets. Coverage then stood at 52.8 percent. The number of connected premises stood at 12.6 million. Both figures were described at the time as encouraging.
The cost structure of fibre rollout is weighted toward civil engineering: trenching, permits, materials, and labour. Industry associations have noted that Germany has the highest per-unit rollout costs in international comparison. "The last metres are the most difficult and the most expensive," said Jens Böker of the Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft. With the European Central Bank's interest rate cycle running against the sector's long payback periods, financing has deteriorated across the market.
The Druzhba pipeline corridor -- the Eastern European gas transit network, whose changed status was reported in these pages in April -- is dormant. The physical infrastructure remains intact. Fox Security Advisory's May assessment noted the corridor had been evaluated for alternative transport applications by logistics interests in the region.
A second application has since clarified.
Professor K. Glasskugel of the Vienna Institute for Trend Analytics and Prognostic Research, reached for comment, said the infrastructure question was consistent with the Institute's current analysis. "The corridor does not distinguish between what it carries," he said. "The logistics question has been present for some time."
The Vienna Institute's methodology is proprietary. Its findings are consistent with the direction of the Commission's current work.
The terms of any arrangement discussed between German business delegations and their counterparts at the St. Petersburg forum were not disclosed to this publication.