Nord Stream 2: Why no gas is flowing yet

Green leader Baerbock is against the commissioning of Nord Stream 2 – and refers to EU law, according to which the gas supplier is not also allowed to operate the pipeline. But does that endanger the project?

It is no secret that Moscow wants to inject gas into the completed pipe as soon as possible. And it is not only among the Greens that it is suspected that the state-owned company Gazprom is deliberately holding back with energy deliveries to Europe in order to drive up prices for consumers and thus increase the pressure on Germany.

The decision of the authorities is still pending

The fact that Nord Stream 2 is not yet in operation is mainly due to the fact that permits are still pending. The Federal Network Agency – also responsible for telecommunications, post and rail – is currently examining whether Gazprom is complying with the EU’s so-called “unbundling rules”. Because the energy directive of the European Union provides: The owner of a pipeline must not be identical to the gas supplier. To the chagrin of Gazprom, the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court confirmed in August that this rule applies to Nord Stream 2. The deadline for the Federal Network Agency to check is now officially running until January 8th. The EU Commission also has a say.

However, the levers of the German regulatory authority are not particularly long: Even if they refuse approval, the Nord Stream 2 operator only has to fear a manageable fine. Experts therefore do not rule out that Gazprom would accept this if the worst came to the worst and still feed in gas.

Project cannot be stopped easily

The political price, however, could well be higher. This is also what Green leader Annalena Baerbock should aim for when she insists on compliance with European energy law. The joint exploratory paper by the SPD, Greens and FDP had never seriously questioned Nord Stream 2, but rather agreed on a compromise formula. In this respect, the Baerbock words should also be understood as a signal to the possible traffic light partners and, above all, the SPD, who are sympathetic to the pipeline.

With all this it is also clear: After the grand coalition had always stuck to Nord Stream 2, the hurdles for a new federal government would be extremely high if it really wanted to stop the project.