Onshore facilities of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in Lubmin, GermanyBERLIN, Jan 18 >German Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck assured that the decision to certify the Nord Stream 2 pipeline would be made professionally, based on existing standards. «will be carried out professionally, in accordance with European regulations, or will not be — this is a matter of competition in relation to the pipeline, the so-called unbundling, which is a condition for certification. It was not carried out, therefore the (certification) process is suspended. This is something that can be reported . When it is launched again, the received documents will be carefully studied,» Habek said at a press conference.
Your browser does not support this video format.
He called gas supply to Europe and Germany the second factor: noting that it goes along various routes, including the Nord Stream, the Yamal-Europe pipeline, through Ukraine. “But the country of origin is always Russia, so we depend on each other in partnership: we need gas, the Russians need a currency for their state to function. The difference is that if the gas will only go through Nord Stream 2, then the West’s focus on «Ukraine will become narrower. Or you can also say that the gas supply infrastructure will fall out of the political focus. This is a political aspect that is not related to certification, but it must be taken into account in such a tense situation,» Khabek said. «general reasoning that we must, in principle, get out of the current situation, when now the confrontation of the armies can result in a hot conflict.» «All diplomatic and economic-political measures should be aimed at treating each other as partners. I have already said that we actually depend on each other. And this fact threatens to become more and more oblivious, including, of course, because of the maneuvers of the Russian troops and playing with fire,» the minister added.Germany told why the EU had options for responding to Nord Stream 2 are being used as an excuse to deploy more NATO military equipment near Russian borders. The Russian Foreign Ministry previously noted that Western statements about «Russian aggression» and the possibility of helping Kiev defend itself against it are both ridiculous and dangerous. At the same time, Kiev and Western states have recently expressed concern about the alleged increase in «aggressive actions» sides of Russia near the borders of Ukraine. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is moving troops within its territory and at its own discretion. According to him, this does not threaten anyone and should not worry anyone. The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline with a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year has already been stretched along the bottom of the Baltic Sea to Germany, but its certification has been suspended by the German authorities due to the fact that the regulator considered it necessary for Nord Sream 2 AG to create a subsidiary in Germany and submit a new application for certification as an operator already on its behalf — this is required by European law. After this application is submitted and accepted, the regulator will resume the process, make its decision, on which the European Commission will then express its opinion. According to the German media, this process may take several months. The Russian Federation has repeatedly stated that Nord Stream 2, which is actively opposed by the United States and Ukraine, is commercial, beneficial to Europe and urged to stop mentioning it in the context of any politicization.
FT: split in German government over Nord Stream 2