Neighbor meeting without Russia
Germany wants to get its hands on Baltic ammunition
06/01/2023, 10:11 p.m
Moscow also determines the meeting of the Baltic Sea countries in the Hanseatic city of Wismar. Russia itself is no longer in the format. The discussions between the states are about increased cooperation on the energy transition – and the disposal of contaminated ammunition.
In view of the Russian attack on Ukraine, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock emphasized the importance of close cooperation between the countries bordering the Baltic Sea. “The security of each one of us is the security of all of us – especially here in the Baltic Sea region,” said the Green politician at the beginning of a foreign ministers’ meeting of the Baltic Sea Council in Wismar in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The war in Ukraine is also a turning point for the region and the Council in particular. Germany will chair the Baltic Sea Council until July.
The regional committee based in Stockholm, founded in 1992, includes Germany, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Sweden, Iceland and the EU. “The Baltic Sea is our common treasure. So let’s protect this treasure,” said Baerbock. Against the background of the planned expansion of wind energy at sea, the German Foreign Minister emphasized that the region offers enormous potential for strengthening mutual security and resilience.
Russia no longer in the format
Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz called for an accelerated energy transition. This is necessary “to make us independent of fossil fuels”. The ministers for spatial planning of the Baltic Sea countries met with Geywitz at the same time as the foreign ministers in the Hanseatic city. The consequences of the war also played a major role in this circle. Baerbock came to Wismar in a German government plane together with some colleagues directly from the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in the Norwegian capital Oslo. She stressed that talks will be held on how to prevent attempts at division by Russia and how to protect the living space for future generations.
Russia’s membership of the CBSS was suspended in March 2022. As a result, Moscow announced its withdrawal in May 2022. Before the attack on Ukraine, the Council was one of the rounds in which concrete cooperation on technical issues with Moscow was possible. The blasting of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 Baltic Sea gas pipelines may also have played a role in the deliberations. Three of the four tubes of the German-Russian energy project were destroyed by explosions in September 2022. It is not yet clear who is responsible for this. Concrete results were not expected on this topic in the CBSS.
Waste ammunition plagues the Baltic Sea
The consultations of the Council of the Baltic Sea States should also deal with the salvage of old ammunition from the sea. Baerbock had announced in 2022 that Germany would devote particular attention to the munitions in the Baltic Sea from the Second World War during its presidency. In addition to a threat to shipping, these could also pose a threat to wind turbines. According to estimates by the Fraunhofer Institute for Graphic Data Processing, there are up to 400,000 tons of conventional ammunition and around 40,000 tons of chemical warfare agents in the Baltic Sea that were sunk after the world wars.
Baerbock and her colleagues had an expert from the institute show them how contaminated ammunition can be tracked down and removed. At a joint appearance with Baerbock, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig made it clear that she would like more speed in the recovery of old ammunition. “We have to start salvaging together quickly,” said the SPD politician.
In the evening, Baerbock wanted to talk to her colleagues behind closed doors about the expansion of renewable energies. “Renewable energies make us independent of energy imports and are our trump card in the fight against the climate crisis,” said the minister. Alongside wind power on land and solar energy, offshore wind power is a central pillar in the expansion of green electricity in Germany. In the coalition agreement, the traffic light government has significantly increased the expansion targets for offshore wind energy compared to the previous government. Instead of 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and 40 GW by 2040, it should now be 30 GW by 2030, 40 GW by 2035 and 70 GW by 2045.