German Minister of the Environment and Nuclear Safety Svenja Schulze assessed the consequences of the halt in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in an interview with RND.
“If we had stopped the project now, we would have caused enough harm, calling into question the reliability of the decisions made on the basis of the rule of law,” Schulze said. She also suggested that in this case, the German side would face legal proceedings.
The German minister stressed that the decision on the construction was taken many years ago, and at the moment the project is almost completed and received the necessary permits. Germany has almost no natural gas reserves of its own, she said, and therefore depends on imports of this raw material before it can fully secure its supply from renewable sources.
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea was supposed to be commissioned at the end of 2019. However, its completion was hampered, in particular, by the threat of sanctions from the United States, due to which European companies began to withdraw from the project. On January 19, 2021, Washington for the first time realized the threat and imposed restrictions on the Russian barge Fortuna, which was going to be used to complete construction. After that, Gazprom for the first time admitted that construction can be postponed indefinitely, and under exceptional circumstances – even forever.
