Brussels The US government has reiterated its criticism of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea with harsh words and called on Russia to deliver more gas to Europe. In view of the high gas prices in the EU, Amos Hochstein, special envoy for global energy security at the US State Department, warned of a supply crisis with “life-threatening” consequences.
If a particularly violent winter falls over Europe, there could be deadly supply shortages in some European countries, Hochstein fears: “We are seeing prices in Europe as we have never seen them before.”
According to the US, only one country can change this in the short term: Russia. That is why Hochstein takes Moscow to account. “There is no doubt that the only supplier that could improve the situation for Europe this winter is Russia,” said the top American diplomat during a virtual press conference. The Russians “could increase gas production, they should do it, they should do it quickly and they should use the existing pipelines for this,” demanded Hochstein.
The US government, however, has no way of helping Europe out of the crisis. Not even with deliveries of American liquefied petroleum gas. The USA is already one of the world’s largest exporters, emphasized Hochstein. However, the market decides about the deliveries. The US diplomat said he was not in a position to instruct companies to whom to sell their gas.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, recently stressed that Russia could significantly increase gas supplies if Germany approved the commissioning of the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline. “The gas delivery can start the next day,” Putin announced last week.
USA think the Kremlin is putting Europe under pressure
Hochstein accused the Kremlin chief of putting Europe under pressure: “If Russia has the gas for deliveries through Nord Stream 2, as it claims, it means that they also have the gas for deliveries through the Ukrainian or other pipelines”, clarified Hochstein. Russia should now use this existing infrastructure.
“That is what we expect and what every open free market economy should expect,” said Hochstein. For reasons of the rule of law alone, the EU should not allow itself to be urged to forego regulatory and legal requirements in the approval process for the pipeline project.
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”.
The traffic lights are divided
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 is holding back gas supplies and only delivering if the EU meets certain requirements, it is difficult to argue that it is not using energy as a weapon. Germany must therefore be careful, even if the country is currently in a “difficult political transition phase”.
For the possible traffic light coalition, the issue of Nord Stream 2 holds some explosives. The Greens reject the pipeline, the SPD supports the pipeline, the FDP had spoken out in favor of a moratorium. There were already first arguments about it.
The EU Commission is also critical of Nord Stream 2 and emphasizes that the project 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 interpretation, this includes that the supplier and operator of the pipeline must not be one and the same company. In the specific case: from Gazprom, the Russian state-owned company.
Nord Stream 2 had put a heavy strain on relations between Germany and the USA in recent years. Under ex-President Donald Trump, the Americans threatened not only Russian but also European companies that were involved in the construction with sanctions.
The US government of President Joe Biden decided to change course in the summer: It refrained from sanctions against Nord Stream 2 and has since tried to mitigate the negative consequences of the pipeline for European energy security.
Basically, Washington remains in the rejection of the project even under new leadership. “Nord Stream 2 is contributing to the instability and insecurity of Europe,” said Hochstein, although the pipeline is only one part of a larger puzzle.
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 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 in turn takes two months to comment and can extend this deadline 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