Germany: Launching Nord Stream 2 impossible on short, medium-term
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After the German chancellor's suspension of the certification on Tuesday, the Ministry of Economy and Energy deems it now impossible.
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Nord Stream 2 logo on a pipe in Chelyabinsk, Russia, February 26, 2020 (Reuters)
The German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy announced on Tuesday that the certification process for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a Russian pipeline made to provide Germany with Russian gas, was stopped after being temporarily halted by the Federal Grid Agency in November 2021.
The Minister of Economy, Robert Habeck, has now that the launching of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is impossible in the short-term and medium-term.
He told ARD, "I don't see Nord Stream 2 launched in the short- and medium-term," saying that Berlin will be purchasing gas from other countries after the announcement of the special military operation in Donbass.
"We will have to buy gas, as well as buy coal, in other countries in a larger volume because we cannot depend so much on a country that no longer respects international law," Habeck said.
Read more: Gas, oil, aluminum prices skyrocket amid Ukraine crisis
On Tuesday, German Chancellor Olf Scholz announced the suspension of the certification of Nord Stream 2 just after Russia's recognition of Lugansk and Donetsk as independent republics.
Earlier that day, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky urged an immediate halt to Nord Stream 2, a pipeline that would transport Russian natural gas to Germany over the Baltic Sea.
Scholz said that the decision to halt the project was just the first "concrete" action and that further penalties against Russia might be imposed in the future - which, right now, are draconian sanctions imposed by the European Union.
He voiced confidence that the European Union would agree "robust and massive" sanctions targeting Russia after Moscow recognized the independence of the two districts in eastern Ukraine.
Read more: EU sanctions 380 Russian lawmakers, 27 individuals, legal entities
Moreover, the Biden administration has also sanctioned the Nord Stream 2 pipeline on Wednesday and its corporate offices in an attempt to drive away Europe's dependency on Russian gas.
Although Nord Stream 2 became a Western tool to pressure Russia in the Ukraine crisis, Europe cannot turn a blind eye to its dependency on Russian gas.
Earlier this morning, gas prices in Europe surged 35% after the announcement of the military operation in Ukraine, while other gas-producing countries, like Qatar, have apologized for their inability to fill the supply gap to Europe "if Russia were to invade."
During the gas summit in Doha, Qatar contended that much of the record gas prices in Europe is primarily due to its lack of investment in Gulf gas before the Ukraine crisis started - Qatar has been demanding supply contracts for 25 years.
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