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Traffic light dispute over Nord Stream 2 threatens: “SPD, Austria and Putin” against the rest of the world - and the Greens?

2022-01-03T15:49:02.155Z


Traffic light dispute over Nord Stream 2 threatens: “SPD, Austria and Putin” against the rest of the world - and the Greens? Created: 01/03/2022, 4:27 PM From: Anna-Katharina Ahnefeld Whether in the EU or the federal government: The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is causing tension. It's about the climate - and about power. EU politicians criticize IPPEN.MEDIA. Berlin / Brussels - Can a “non-polit


Traffic light dispute over Nord Stream 2 threatens: “SPD, Austria and Putin” against the rest of the world - and the Greens?

Created: 01/03/2022, 4:27 PM

From: Anna-Katharina Ahnefeld

Whether in the EU or the federal government: The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is causing tension.

It's about the climate - and about power.

EU politicians criticize IPPEN.MEDIA.

Berlin / Brussels - Can a “non-political decision” be made on a highly explosive topic like Nord Stream 2? At least Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) * recently rejected the amalgamation of the controversial Baltic Sea pipeline with the current conflict in Ukraine - and with it politics. "With regard to Nord Stream 2, this is a private-sector project" that is being examined by the Federal Network Agency, said Scholz. The background: The European partners had put him to the test with regard to possible sanctions against Russia. In view of the Russian military activities on the eastern border of Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia called on Germany to use the pipeline as leverage. And collected a basket.

Facts have already been created in the past few months: the pipeline is in place, and the second pipe is now also filled with gas. But with the final approval there are still some cliffs to circumnavigate. The Federal Network Agency only suspended the certification process in November. Nord Stream 2 does not yet meet the guidelines of European energy law - the Russian state-owned company Gazprom should first establish a German subsidiary. "After a detailed examination of the documents, the Federal Network Agency came to the conclusion that certification of an operator of the Nord Stream 2 line can only be considered if the operator is organized in a legal form under German law," says a press release.

If a draft decision is then available, it is sent to the European Commission.

But in Brussels the attitude is skeptical to negative.

Means: Just because the Baltic Sea pipeline is ready for operation does not mean that it will go into operation.

Could the mega-project turn out to be a dead bullet after all?

Nord Stream 2: Baerbock and Habeck against controversial Baltic Sea pipeline - dispute in the traffic light?

Unlike Scholz, the Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock * is now positioning herself. Since taking office, she has followed a rather escalating course in dealing with Russia - and has now followed up with Nord Stream 2. "The last few years have made it clear, with a view to the different perceptions in Europe, which geostrategic role Nord Stream 2 plays," said the Green politician of the German Press Agency (dpa). For the 41-year-old, the gas pipeline stands for more than just private business interests. The old federal government of the Union and the SPD had already acknowledged that the pipeline would raise security issues, Baerbock continued.

And Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has put a possible end to the Ukraine crisis. Further military aggression on the part of Russia should “not remain without severe consequences,” the Vice-Chancellor told the

Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung

. There could be no prohibition of thinking.

Nevertheless: Habeck defended the decision of the federal government to consider the approval of the gas pipeline from a purely legal point of view and not to interfere. “We are a constitutional state, and permits are granted according to the law,” said the Green politician on December 29 in the ZDF “heute journal”. “Politics have to concentrate on the political field, and that has to be analyzed in terms of foreign policy and geopolitics. In other words, with a view to the situation in Eastern Ukraine * and the deployment of the Russian army there, a political decision will have to be made as to which sanctions may be issued if another hot conflict occurs there. "

I think Nord Stream 2 is essentially a geostrategic project with which the Russian President wants to weaken Ukraine, divide Europe and make Germany more dependent on Russia.

Reinhard Bütikofer (Greens), MEP

Given the explosive political power of Nord Stream 2, is the relationship between the traffic light partners already simmering?

At least the fact seems that Chancellor Scholz and his Foreign Minister Baerbock have different opinions *.

The pipeline reveals a fundamental dissent between the SPD and the Greens on their Russia policy.

While Baerbock has geopolitical concerns and fears greater dependency on Russia and the threat of a loss of income for Ukraine, Scholz wants to keep the major project on an economic level - like Angela Merkel *.

Criticism of Nord Stream 2: Russia is pushing for start-up - Bütikofer refers to geopolitics

In an interview with

IPPEN.MEDIA

, the Green MEP Reinhard Bütikofer took a clear position on the gas pipeline: “I consider Nord Stream 2 to be an essentially geostrategic project with which the Russian President is weakening Ukraine, dividing Europe and Germany more strongly wants to make you dependent on Russia. "

The former head of the Greens describes the mix of fronts between supporters of the pipeline and their opponents as follows: “Not only the Greens are opposed to this project, the vast majority in the European Council, the European Commission, and a large majority of the Europeans are opposed to this project Parliament, most of our neighboring countries and the United States.

The Austrians, Angela Merkel, the SPD and Putin threw themselves into the breach for this project. "

The Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz: Previously the main network operator of Gazprom's gas exports to the EU 

As a gas transit country, Ukraine is afraid of falling out of the focus of the West. The application to the Federal Network Agency itself to settle the certification process for Nord Stream 2 goes back to the Ukrainian gas supplier Naftogaz. Naftogaz boss Yuri Witrenko was delighted, but immediately emphasized: “Gazprom has announced to the German regulatory authority that it will set up a subsidiary in Germany, which will then be specified as the 'independent operator' of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and only part of the pipeline which is located on German territory. This is a mockery of the European rules: it corresponds neither to the spirit nor to the wording of the European legislation on the certification of gas pipelines. "

In the meantime, Naftogaz has also filed a complaint with the European Commission about “Gazprom's anti-competitive behavior”, according to a press release on December 22nd.

Russia itself is meanwhile pressing for a swift decision on Nord Stream 2. The energy crisis in Europe had already increased the pressure on the start of the project significantly.

The member states were alarmed by high prices for electricity and gas - and Russia came to the fore as and already the largest gas supplier.

"Nobody needs an artificial delay in the commissioning of the pipeline," said the Russian ambassador to Germany, Sergei Netschajew, of the dpa.

Russia is ready to immediately deliver gas to Germany through the two pipes under the Baltic Sea.

He expects the new federal government made up of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP to deal with the project “pragmatically and for the benefit of the consumer”.

Aspects of climate policy at Nord Stream 2 - Left-wing politician Demirel: "Oversleep expansion of renewables"

Last but not least, Nord Stream 2 is also about serious climate policy concerns.

In view of the climate crisis, the start of a natural gas pipeline seems out of date.

“Nord Stream 2 is a wrong path in terms of climate policy.

The pipeline is expected to transport fossil natural gas to Germany well beyond 2050.

The project stands for 100 million tons of CO2 a year, not even including climate-damaging methane emissions from natural gas production.

This makes the pipeline probably the largest fossil fuel new construction project in Europe, ”writes Deutsche Umwelthilfe on its website.

The association sued against the commissioning.

Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

© Kay Nietfeld / dpa

Özlem Demirel, Member of the European Parliament for the Left, agrees. “The debate has several levels: a climate policy and a geopolitical one. In terms of climate policy, one has to say that the expansion of renewable energies was simply overslept. ”In an interview with

IPPEN.MEDIA

, Demirel asked himself why we are now focusing more on gas as a transition technology, while on the other hand we are talking about phasing out coal and nuclear energy and moving away from fossil fuels

. But Nord Stream 2 is not primarily about "new" gas, but about a direct line to Germany. “We should have relied on a sustainable energy policy at an early stage - ten or 20 years ago. Instead, we are now experiencing how internal contradictions between member states of the European Union and the United States are being dealt with in this area. "

In fact, it seems paradoxical: while the German government wants to get out of fossil fuels as quickly as possible, Nord Stream 2 could simultaneously transport even more natural gas to Europe over decades. Germany and the European Union would continue to depend on fossil energy sources. And this despite the fact that the Ampel government announced its goal in the coalition agreement to make Germany climate neutral by 2045. The European Union is also pressing for climate neutrality by 2050 with its “Fit for 55” plan - European emissions are to be reduced by 55 percent in 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

All of this assumes that greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced significantly in the coming years and decades.

In the meantime, when Nord Stream 2 goes into operation, up to 55 billion cubic meters of gas will flow annually from Russia to Germany and other EU countries.

(aka) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-01-03

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