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Photo: Nord Stream 2 (facebook.com-oilcapital.ru)
Germany has six “moves” through which it can leave the Nord Stream 2 project, allowing others to do the “dirty work” of refusing. It can override issued construction agreements, insist on EU-level sanctions, and also “allow” the United States to halt the project, which had previously imposed sanctions against the pipeline.
Write about this issue Politico.
Under the first option, Berlin could pressure the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency and the Stralsund Regional Mining Authority to revoke previously issued building permits.
At the same time, the withdrawal of permits for political reasons will create an opportunity for the gas pipeline operator Nord Stream 2 AG to sue Germany, and the damage could reach the cost of the pipeline itself: some 9.5 billion euros, says Politico.
As a second option, the newspaper offers Berlin to “see” how the trial will unfold with non-governmental organizations that oppose the construction of Nord Stream 2.
For example, the Deutsche Umwelthilfe organization that filed the lawsuit alleges that the project is incompatible with the country’s climate goals, and its construction should be frozen due to the project’s possible impact on global warming.
Another option, Politico continues, may be a national restriction on Russian gas imports. Such a restriction on foreign trade is possible if it is necessary to “guarantee basic security interests,” the newspaper said.
In addition, Germany may insist on blanket EU sanctions or “allow” US authorities to carry out work to stop the project, which have consistently opposed its implementation and imposed sanctions against it this winter. Also, even if the project is finished, your job can be complicated by obtaining a license.
The Nord Stream 2 project envisages the construction of two strings of a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea to supply Russian gas to Germany. The construction operator is Nord Stream 2 AG, whose sole shareholder is PJSC Gazprom.
Recall that the EU started talking about stopping the construction of the Russian gas pipeline after the poisoning of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. They want to use the measures against Nord Stream 2 as a lever on the Russian Federation in the Navalny case.
As RBC-Ukraine wrote, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that Berlin is considering the option of stopping construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline.
At the same time, German Chancellor Angela Merkel argued that the EU does not associate the Navalny poisoning with the completion of the construction of Nord Stream 2.
