Germany halts Nord Stream 2 approval over Russian
recognition of Ukraine ‘republics’
Chancellor Olaf Scholz suspends gas pipeline over
‘grave breach’ of international law
Construction of Nord Stream 2, supplying gas from
Russia to Germany, was completed last year but the pipeline has yet to be
authorised.
Philip
Oltermann
@philipoltermann
Tue 22 Feb
2022 12.30 GMT
Germany has
stopped the certification process for the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas
pipeline in reaction to Russia’s recognition of the self-proclaimed republics
in Luhansk and Donetsk in east Ukraine, chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced.
Germany’s
energy minister, Robert Habeck, on Tuesday morning instructed the withdrawal of
a security of supply assessment granted under Angela Merkel’s tenure, which is
required to authorise the pipeline between Russia and Germany.
“This may
sound technical, but it is the necessary administrative step without which the
pipeline cannot be certified,” Scholz said at a press conference in Berlin at
midday. “Without this certification Nord Stream 2 cannot go into operation”.
Scholz said
he has commissioned a new assessment into Germany’s energy security in the
light of geopolitical developments in east Ukraine.
The German
leader described Putin’s recognition of the Russian-controlled territories as a
“grave breach” of international law that broke with decades of agreements
between Russia and the west. “The situation today is fundamentally different,”
he said.
First
announced in 2015, the $11bn (£8.3bn) pipeline owned by Russia’s state-backed
energy giant Gazprom has been built to carry gas from western Siberia to Lubmin
in Germany’s north-east, doubling the existing capacity of the Nord Stream 1
pipeline and keeping 26m German homes warm at an affordable price.
The
construction of the pipeline was completed last September and its operator says
it is already filled with gas and ready to go into use, pending permission from
German authorities.
Social
Democrat Scholz, who was sworn in as German chancellor last December, has
skirted around the Nord Stream 2 debate in the first weeks of his tenure, with
his spokespeople initially sticking to the line that the pipeline was a purely
commercial project.
As tensions
heightened on Ukraine’s border with Russia, Scholz said that “all options are
on the table” when it came to sanctions against a possible incursion, but still
refrained from naming Nord Stream – until now.
The Nord
Stream 2 pipeline is an important project for both the Russian and German
economies. Gas and oil make up over 50% of Russia’s exports.
In Germany,
about a quarter of the country’s energy supply relies on gas, of which half is
provided by Russia. While Europe’s largest economy is planning to wean itself
off fossil fuels and achieve carbon neutrality in 25 years’ time, gas remains a
vital bridging technology on that path.
Asked on
Tuesday how he sought to end Germany’s reliance on Russian gas in the medium
term, Scholz declined to give precise answers. The challenge of diversifying
energy supplies was a “major European task”, he said. Original plans for Nord
Stream 2 included 90% of gas piped into Germany being distributed on to eastern
and southern Europe.
Norway and
the Netherlands, the two other major suppliers of natural gas to Germany, have
already signalled that they won’t be able to significantly increase their
supplies. Since Germany does not have its own import terminal for liquified
gas, which is transported by ship rather than through pipelines, there are also
questions about whether demand can be met through emergency supplies from the
US or Qatar.
Habeck, of
the Green party, on Tuesday said his country’s energy needs were guaranteed to
be met, but said he expected the conflict in eastern Ukraine to lead to a
further rise in gas prices.
.jpeg)
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário