At the height of the Ukraine-Russia crisis, no authorization for Nord Stream 2, the record gas pipeline that should carry Russian gas to Germany. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz froze the authorization after the recognition by Russian President Vladimir Putin of the Donbass separatist republics. ” Today the situation is completely different ” and ” for this reason we must reassess this situation, in the light of the latest developments, ” said Scholz, actually taking up the request made shortly before by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
The Nord Stream 2 project saw the light in 2011 with the first evaluations. The 1,234 km pipeline, the longest offshore pipeline in the world, has been completed and is ready to go into operation by the end of 2021, as Alexei Miller, the CEO of Gazprom – a giant at the forefront of the project – assured the Russian president. Vladimir Putin during a meeting on December 29 last year. Gazprom has completed the gas filling of the second string and both sections with sufficient pressure are completely ready for use.
“Now, of course, everything depends on our partners, consumers in Europe. As soon as additional large volumes of Russian gas have been agreed, they will immediately begin to flow to Europe”, Putin’s words on the occasion. Nord Stream 2 would be able to guarantee the passage of 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea. The pipeline, however, has so far been blocked pending the green light from Germany and the European Union.
In January, when the tension between Russia and Ukraine reached warning levels, the Nord Steam 2 theme rose to prominence. The president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen “has always said that Nord Stream 2 was on the table, when we talk about the response to be given to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine”, underlined in the last few hours the Commission’s chief spokesman Eric Mamer. , commenting hotly, during the press briefing in Brussels, on the decision of the German government to stop the trans-Baltic gas pipeline. The president, added Mamer, “has always been very clear: Nord Stream 2 has never been off the table”. The Commission “intervenes later” and the president considers it a “political project. Our vision has always been very clear. The German government exercises its responsibilities in the certification process,” she concluded.
#Nord #Stream #gas #Germany #UkraineRussia #crisis