Germany has suspended the certification of Nord Stream 2. This is a response to Russia's actions in eastern Ukraine, said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz .
It took officials a long time to decide on this decision, because they did not know what consequences it would have. We asked the experts and also visited the city of Lubmin.
The Nord Stream ends in the town of Lubmin on the coast of the Baltic Sea.
– You're at the resort, right? — the driver who takes us to Lubmin cannot even imagine what other purpose one can go there for.
In the view of ordinary Germans, this is just a cozy resort on the Baltic Sea, where pensioners like to relax. The place is very well maintained and quite rich.
It's only the afternoon, and there's almost no one on the streets. Only two thousand people live in the town.
It is so small that we accidentally meet the mayor with whom we agreed to meet in the city center. And we are already going to see Nord Stream 1 and 2 together.
Axel Vogt, the city's mayor, took over as president even before the launch of Nord Stream 1. He is a tall, thin, middle-aged man who has been a burgomaster for “eleven” years. He organizes an express tour of the main industrial facilities for us.
This is his first conversation with Ukrainian journalists. He came to this position almost simultaneously with Chancellor Angela Merkel . By the way, she ran for the Bundestag from the district of Stralsund.
Northern Western Pomerania – Rügen, near Lubmin. And it is Merkel who is the godmother of both gas pipelines.
“The gas pipeline means taxes to our budget,” says the mayor of Lubmina.
We pass the Greiswald nuclear power plant, which was closed in 1990, and the former water discharge canal was turned into a port at state expense.
Now Vogt is officially in charge here – he is both the mayor and the director of the port.
— We are located in the industrial port, which is the heart of the entire industrial area. Thanks to the port, enterprises of the entire region of the Baltic and North Seas are provided with products. The industrial port unites the communities of Kreslin, Lubmin and Rubenov, which are located around the industrial area. We are the owners and managers of the port, says Axel Vogt.
But this place is significant not only for this reason. Vogt asks to look to the right. Behind the working pontoon is Nord Stream-1. On the other side is Nord Stream 2.
Nord Stream-2
The mayor explains why important facilities were built here.
— We have fulfilled the basic requirement for this energy facility. We have a direct connection to the water from the Baltic Sea. We already had the Nord Stream 1 project, which has been successfully built and has been operating since 2011. He was our model. They knew all aspects of its construction.
We did everything to successfully implement Nord Stream 2. To do this, we had a port through which we received building materials. We also had the opportunity to transport building structures and units by rail, says Axel Vogt.
Both objects are fenced with a grid, so you can see them perfectly. Vogt leads us to the point where they can be seen best.
“Here, underground, are the Nord Stream 2 pipes,” he says, while we go out onto the hill in search of the best shooting point.
The well-being of his community depends on this object. No wonder the mayor wants him to work.
— Nord Stream 2 is identical to Nord Stream 1, and for us as a community in northeast Germany, it is important. In the north-east of Germany, and especially in our state district, there are very few industrial areas.
Lubminer Heide is one of the most powerful. More than 2 thousand people work here. In this regard, Nord Stream 2 is very important. The project brings us a large amount of industrial taxes that remain in the community, go to the land district, and some of them go to the budget of the federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern). A lot of people have been involved in the construction,” the mayor says.
Embankment Lubmin
Axel Vogt's opinion is shared by the majority of local residents. They prefer not to think that these objects will be a trap for the whole of Europe.
The history of the construction of Nord Stream-2
The Nord Stream 2 project was announced back in 2010.
Agreements for the construction of two additional lines between Gazprom and Royal Dutch Shell, E.ON, OMV and Engie were concluded in 2015.
Within two years, Nord Stream-2AG and Allseas agreed to provide capacity for pipe-laying across the sea.
Two years later, the project was suspended due to sanctions. Then the construction was resumed. Gazprom said in August last year that the gas pipeline was almost ready to launch, but problems with certification prevented it.
The German Federal Network Agency stated that Nord Stream-2 was founded in violation of German law. And until this is fixed, there will be no permission to start.
Geopolitical Significance of Nord Stream 2
This project is called the Russian geopolitical weapon. By itself, neither Germany nor Europe needs it.
“We have never needed such a gas pipeline across the Baltic Sea. We have a more powerful transit through Ukraine. And this gas pipeline is a political project to replace Ukrainian transit,” says Franziska Holz , professor, expert at the German Institute for Economic Research, to Facts.
In addition, this pipe allows Russia to influence Europe.
If the flow is launched, then 70-80% of the transit of Russian gas to Europe will be concentrated on one route.
Russia would get a monopoly on fuel supplies. Since, according to the project, certain European countries would receive preferences in gas supplies, this could undermine the unity of the European Union.
Russia, in turn, took up blackmail even before the launch of the gas pipeline.
“The deficit that Russia created in the European market was blackmail in order to force the Europeans to certify Nord Stream 2,” says Svetlana Zalishchuk , adviser to the head of the board of NAK Naftogaz.
Despite this, the previous German government supported the completion of the project. And the new to the last weighed the position.
Sanctions against Nord Stream 2
Opposition to the construction of the stream was announced in January 2018 by representatives of the United States and Poland.
A year later, on December 20, 2019, the United States imposed new sanctions on companies that built the stream. And they gave them a month to stop work.
A year later, on December 9, 2020, a new package of restrictions was approved for facilitating the sale, lease or provision of pipe-laying vessels.
In May last year, the sanctions were lifted. US President Joseph Biden then said that sanctions harm relations with European allies.
In November, the State Department said it was imposing restrictions on a company linked to Russia and participating in the construction of a gas pipeline. The previous restrictions did not prevent the flow from being stopped.
But the fact that Germany stops certification may work, Svetlana Zalishchuk believes.
We welcome this decision of the German government. This is the solution that the Ukrainian Naftogaz has been seeking for a long time. They stop the certification process, I saw some comments from journalists that the process has already been suspended, so nothing will change.
But it is not so. Earlier, the process was suspended due to the fact that Russia did not add a full package of documents. But now we have an official decision on Nord Stream 2, which was adopted at the highest political level,” Svetlana Zalishchuk assures.
Russia still has a chance to start the flow, says Zalishchuk. Stopping certification is not a sanction.
Scholz asked the Federal Ministry of Economics to revoke the report on energy security from the Federal Grid Agency. Under what conditions is unknown. The document has not yet been released to the public.
It is quite possible that it contains requirements regarding what Russia must do in order for the Potok to be launched. Nord stream-2 may also try to defend its position in court.
At the same time, Naftogaz notes that Germany's decision will not affect the security of gas supplies to the European Union through our GTS.
The Ukrainian gas transmission system is three times more powerful than Nord Stream-2. Of course, if Russia does not want to launch a gas strike in response.
The Kremlin has already threatened that gas in Europe will cost $2,000 per cubic meter.
