Germany is determined to maintain European solidarity when it faces a more than likely energy crisis next winter, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday.

“The European Union must face these difficult times in solidarity, this is something I explicitly commit to,” Scholz told reporters at a news conference in Berlin.

“I think, as the largest country with the largest economy and the largest population in central Europe, we have a special task.”

Germany cannot play with Brussels to please its domestic public, he added.

“We are the ones who have to do our part so that progress and sustainability reach Europe. This is something I’m committed to,” Scholz said.