Sunday December 12th 2021
EU law not complied with
Baerbock: Nord Stream 2 cannot go online
The Baltic Sea pipeline could long ago carry gas from Russia to Germany, but the permit is still missing. Political support is also waning. Foreign Minister Baerbock now lowers her thumb again. At least for now.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has confirmed that the controversial German-Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 cannot currently be put into operation. When recording a ZDF interview, the Green politician referred to the agreement in the coalition agreement with the SPD and FDP that European energy law applies to energy projects such as the Baltic Sea pipeline.
“And that means that, as things stand at the moment, this pipeline cannot be approved because it does not meet the requirements of European energy law and the safety issues are still in the room anyway,” said Baerbock. The Greens had heavily criticized the project during the election campaign and also called for construction to be halted. They are much more skeptical of him than, for example, the SPD.
The pipeline was not explicitly mentioned in the coalition agreement with the SPD and FDP. The Federal Network Agency had already requested a separation of the areas of trade and transport and therefore suspended the approval process for the line. In October, Baerbock elaborated on her legal concerns. She said that under European energy law, the operator of Nord Stream 2 “has to be someone else who passes the gas”. So far, however, it is planned that the Russian gas company Gazprom will do both.
Pipeline is ready but not yet approved
Most recently, the new State Secretary for Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Climate Change, Sven Giegold, called for EU law to be implemented before the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline could go into operation. “It is clear that European energy law also applies to this project, the separation of trade and transport is clearly specified,” said the Green politician. But it is conceivable that the Russians will find a solution to meet these legal requirements.
The pipeline has already been completed, but may not be commissioned yet. The Federal Network Agency had suspended its procedure for the certification of Nord Stream 2 AG as an independent operator and thus for the approval of gas transport through the Baltic Sea pipeline from Russia to Germany in mid-November. First of all, the operating company must be organized according to German law, the authority announced.
The pipeline is actually a purely private-sector project, but has been causing political tensions for years. In Ukraine in particular, it has been criticized as an attempt by Russia to shut down the country in gas transport. The US accuses Germany of making itself dependent on Russian gas. The country had imposed sanctions on the completion of the construction.