Brussels, Berlin The energy crisis in Europe and the ongoing conflict over the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline threaten to become a burden for the future traffic light coalition. While the SPD sees the gas pipeline as a way out of the supply bottleneck, the Greens are renewing their criticism. “We always hear from Angela Merkel that Russia is a reliable delivery partner and that it complies with all contracts,” said Vice-President of the Greens, Oliver Krischer, of the Handelsblatt. “Now it would be time for the federal government to demand this in Moscow as well.”
Because, according to the Greens, Russia is putting pressure on the EU in a targeted manner. The state-owned Russian energy company Gazprom “delivers significantly less natural gas to Western Europe and Germany in order to implement the commissioning of Nord Stream 2 promptly,” said Krischer, who is negotiating for the Greens in the “Climate, Energy, Transformation” working group with the SPD and FDP.
Last week, Greens co-boss Annalena Baerbock confirmed her rejection of Nord Stream 2. You consider it “wrong that we create another dependency”.
In the SPD, the political excitement about the pipeline is considered inappropriate. “The operating license for Nord Stream 2 is not a political issue, but rather a legal issue. It is the task of the Federal Network Agency to make an independent decision in accordance with the law, ”said Timon Gremmels, energy policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group. But the traffic light government, if it is formed in the coming weeks, will not get rid of the irritating topic of Nord Stream 2 that easily.
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Because the USA is not giving up its criticism either. Amos Hochstein, special envoy for global energy security at the US State Department, asked Russia in a press conference to use the existing pipelines to Europe for additional gas exports.
The Russians “could increase gas production, they should do it, they should do it quickly, and they should use the existing pipelines to do this”.
(Photo: Getty Images; Per-Anders Pettersson)
In view of the high gas prices in Europe, Hochstein warned of a supply crisis with “life-threatening” consequences if a particularly violent winter should break in Europe. According to the USA, Russia is the only country that can change this dramatic situation in the short term.
USA are among the largest exporters
The Russians “could increase gas production, they should do it, they should do it quickly, and they should use the existing pipelines for this,” warned Hochstein. The US government does not see its own ways of helping Europe out of the crisis with gas exports.
The USA is already one of the world’s largest exporters, emphasized Hochstein. But the market decides about the delivery of American liquefied gas. He was not in a position to instruct companies to whom to sell their gas, said the special envoy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, recently stressed that Russia could significantly increase gas supplies if Germany approves the commissioning of the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline. “The gas delivery can start the next day,” Putin announced last week.
The US accuses the Kremlin chief of putting pressure on Europe to force the new Baltic Sea pipeline into operation quickly: “If Russia has the gas for deliveries through Nord Stream 2, as it claims, it means that it also has the gas for deliveries through the Ukrainian or other pipelines, ”Hochstein clarified. For reasons of the rule of law, the EU should not allow itself to be urged to forego regulatory requirements for Nord Stream 2.
Opponents of the pipeline have been warning for years that the Kremlin sees the pipeline as a geopolitical project. The goal is to cut off Ukraine from gas transit to Europe and thereby weaken Kiev. In July, the German government agreed with the Americans on a declaration on Nord Stream 2 and committed itself to “effective measures including sanctions” “should Russia try to use energy as a weapon”.
When asked whether this point has now been reached and whether Russia is using energy supplies as a weapon against Europe, Hochstein replied: We are now “very close” to this point. If Russia withholds gas supplies and only delivers if the EU meets certain requirements, it is difficult to argue that Moscow is not using energy as a weapon. Germany must be careful, even if the country is currently in a “difficult political transition phase”.
The future traffic light will have to find a position quickly. Are the Americans correct in their assessment that the Kremlin uses energy supplies as a foreign policy instrument? And if so, of which at least the Greens are convinced: should the EU respond with sanctions?
Certification is missing
The pipeline from Brussels threatens additional complications. For the EU Commission, Nord Stream 2 is “not in the common European interest”. The Commission’s aim is for the gas pipeline to be operated in a “transparent, non-discriminatory manner” and in accordance with “international and European energy law”. According to the Brussels reading, this includes that the supplier and operator of the pipeline must not be one and the same company. In the specific case, this could mean that Gazprom will have to part with the operating company Nord Stream 2 AG.
The construction of the gas pipeline has now been completed. The pipes, which can deliver up to 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia to Germany annually, are already being filled with gas. But the certification of the operating company Nord Stream 2 AG by the Federal Network Agency is still missing.
The Bonn authority has until the beginning of January to make a decision. Then it is the turn of the EU Commission, which again takes two months to comment and can extend this period by another two months. Before March, Nord Stream 2 would not be “on the table” as an option, said Hochstein. Russia should submit to this reality and enter into a discussion on how “as much gas as possible can be delivered to Europe this winter”.
More: Brussels column: Germany is to blame for Putin’s gas price dictation