With the arrival of a new government, Germany will abandon the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, according to a Bloomberg article published on Friday 5 February.
According to the agency’s columnist Andreas Kluth, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and new US President Joe Biden will have an “unpleasant conversation” about Russia and the gas pipeline under construction, since the countries have disagreements over the pipeline. It is noted that the German authorities regard the gas pipeline as a commercial project, and the American side considers it a geopolitical initiative.
As the author of the material writes, Merkel is “holding on” to the project in order to keep the peace in her party, while the chancellor remembers the federal elections coming in September. According to him, after Merkel leaves the CDU, the CDU will remain in power, but they will have to work in partnership with the Green party opposing Nord Stream 2.
“It [Меркель] knows that the moment will come when the new government of conservatives and greens will declare the obvious: the pipeline was not worth building at all and there will never be anything but air in it, ”the article says.
On February 5, the German Chancellor said that she would discuss Nord Stream 2 with the new US administration and hopes to reach a decision on the project. She added that the project plays a large role in transatlantic relations.
On the same day, the head of the Bundestag’s international affairs committee, Norbert Röttgen, proposed a moratorium on the construction of the gas pipeline. According to him, it is necessary for negotiations between the European Union, Russia and the United States.
Prior to that, on February 2, it was reported that the US authorities had set a number of conditions for the FRG to lift sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. However, the German government did not see any opportunities for US concessions on the project and referred to the agreements already reached on gas transit through Ukraine.
Nord Stream 2 is being built from Russia to the Federal Republic of Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea with the aim of direct and reliable gas supplies to Europe. The EU countries mainly support the project and participate in its implementation. The USA, the Baltic states, Poland and Ukraine are against.