Greens boss Annalena Baerbock is in favor of initially not granting an operating license for the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea natural gas pipeline. According to European energy law, the operator of the pipeline must “be different from the one who conducts the gas”, she said to the Funke media group. “As long as it is one and the same group, the operating license may not be granted.”
Baerbock said: “We must not allow ourselves to be blackmailed.” Russia apparently deliberately created the situation that the gas storage facilities were relatively empty, “in order to force the rapid commissioning of Nord Stream 2”. This is “a strategic decision” by the gas company Gazprom against the Europeans.
According to media reports, Russia had previously asked Germany to certify the pipeline before January 8th. The pipeline, which is around 1200 kilometers long, is intended to transport gas from Russia to Germany. The Federal Network Agency is currently examining the application for certification. In particular, it is a question of whether the operators comply with the EU rules on unbundling, according to which gas production and gas transport must be separated.
Signals came from Russia on Monday that additional gas would only be supplied to European consumers to alleviate the current energy shortage if the EU approves the pipeline in return. This was said by people close to the state gas giant Gazprom and the Kremlin. “We cannot rush to help just to compensate for mistakes we have not made,” said Konstantin Kosachev, a leading Kremlin MP in the Upper House of Parliament, in an interview without explaining what Russia is about. “We fulfill all of our contracts, all of our obligations. Anything beyond that should be the subject of additional voluntary and mutually beneficial agreements.”
Gas prices are rising, the pressure on Russia is growing
As if to underline this point, the operator of the pipeline explained on Monday that the first string was filled with so-called technical gas and ready for operation, but that it could only be transported after the official approval had been granted. That announcement came just hours after European gas prices soared. Previously it had been said that Gazprom had again only offered a small capacity for the transport of the fuel to Europe via other routes.
As rising fuel costs increasingly affect the economy, there is growing pressure on Russia to produce more gas in order to avoid a major supply crisis in the middle of winter. But with relations with the EU strained after years of sanctions and other tensions, the Kremlin is unwilling to do the Europeans a favor. Although exports to Europe have increased this year compared to the previous year, they are below the values for 2019, according to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.
Last week, President Vladimir Putin hinted at an energy conference in Moscow that Russia could offer more gas. But he also lamented the slow progress in the approval of Nord Stream 2, which could drag on well into next year.