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Laying ship for the gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea (photo from 2018)
Photo: Bernd Wüstneck / DPA
Hardly any major infrastructure project is as controversial as the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. It could soon deliver around 55 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia to Europe every year.
But many European states and the USA are against the project, the conflict is against relations with Germany.
Nord Stream 2 could also become an issue before the general election.
The Russia reporter of the CDU / CSU parliamentary group in the German Bundestag, Roderich Kiesewetter, advocates that the Union should take a critical stance in the election campaign.
"Nord Stream 2 is primarily a geopolitical project with which Russia is primarily aiming to eliminate Ukraine from gas transit to Europe," writes Kiesewetter in a "Handout on Russia Issues," which SPIEGEL has received.
The CDU external expert wrote the paper as an argumentation aid for the federal election campaign.
In this he distinguishes himself from the claim that Nord Stream 2 is a "purely economic project".
Chancellor Angela Merkel had long advocated this position, and CDU leader and candidate for Chancellor Armin Laschet also recently used the term in a foreign policy discussion.
The economic politicians of the CDU see it similarly.
The attitude of the experts at the CDU for foreign policy, on the other hand, is mostly skeptical to negative.
"From a content and rhetorical point of view, it has been a political project from the start that creates unnecessary transit capacities," writes Kiesewetter.
Against "romanticizing hopes" and "symbolically imposed sanctions"
In his paper he lists several arguments against the German-Russian project.
He writes that the pipeline gives Moscow "the option of increasing political and military pressure on Ukraine without endangering the gas business with Western Europe."
From an economic point of view, the gas transit associated with Nord Stream 2 is "of lesser importance," since the majority of Russian export income comes from the sale of oil.
Without the new pipeline, an important driving factor for the development of new natural gas reserves in the arctic regions of Russia would be lost.
"Such an expansion of gas production in the sensitive Arctic regions is also problematic for ecological reasons," said Kiesewetter.
Unless Russia produces green hydrogen and Nord Stream 2 is used for it.
The CDU foreign politician also criticizes what he sees as the lack of coordination between the federal government and European partners.
However, he speaks out against a construction freeze;
it is too late for that.
"In view of the advanced status of the project and the billions in compensation to be expected, the pipeline should now be completed soberly after a moratorium has been examined," writes Kiesewetter.
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CDU external expert Roderich Kiesewetter
Photo: Stephanie Pilick / picture alliance / dpa
Completion is not necessarily linked to the purchase of natural gas.
When the plant goes into operation, this should be "linked to the security of supply for the Eastern Europeans and linked to verifiable Russian guarantees that will secure the prospect of direct delivery of fixed minimum quantities of natural gas to Ukraine."
Chancellor candidate Laschet had also considered a possible stop of the gas transit.
Rules had been agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Laschet recently said at the discussion event at the Munich Security Conference.
Should Putin use Nord Stream 2 against Ukraine, "it can be stopped again at any time, even when the pipeline is ready, because then the basis for business is gone."
»Sober and realistic image of Russia«
Kiesewetter's paper takes stock of German-Russian relations and mainly addresses issues between Berlin and Moscow.
The CDU external expert advocates a “sober and realistic image of Russia”.
"Romanticizing hopes" on possibilities of influence in the sense of the concept of "change through trade" would have to be realistically assessed.
Kiesewetter states that Russia is purposefully pursuing its strategic interests.
"A soothing attitude and symbolically imposed sanctions do not lead to any change in behavior and therefore have no substantial effect."
