Der Spiegel: Germany ignored Poland's position on Nord Stream 2
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy did not take into account Poland's position in its assessment for the certification of the Russian Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline, Der Spiegel reports.
At the end of October, the Ministry sent to the German Federal Network Agency (the regulatory office for energy sector) an analysis of the reliability of gas supplies. It said that the issuance of the certificate "does not jeopardize the security of gas supplies to Germany and the European Union."
According to Der Spiegel, The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy ignored the arguments of the Polish Energy Regulatory Office which earlier sent a letter to German authorities expressing concern that Russia’s gas conglomerate Gazprom (the main shareholder of the operator of the Nord Stream 2 AG project) could "jeopardize the security of gas supplies to certain member states, regions or even the entire European Union."
After that, the German environmental organization Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) called for a halt in the implementation of the gas pipeline. DUH chief Sascha Müller-Kraenner said that "the federal government is ignoring the legitimate concerns of our neighbors." In his opinion, the Russian gas pipeline threatens the energy security of Europe and jeopardizes compliance with climate goals.
At the same time, the German Ministry of Ecology noted that Berlin held consultations with Poland and other countries, including Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary and the Czech Republic, and this " was reflected in the analysis."
On September 8, the German Federal Network Agency launched the pipeline’s certification process. The Agency noted that this would take a maximum of four months. Based on the results of the audit, the draft decision will be sent to the European Commission. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov admitted that permission to launch the gas pipeline can be obtained by the beginning of 2022.
At the end of September, the Polish company PGNiG and its German branch PGNiG Supply & Trading GmbH received the right to participate in the certification of the gas pipeline. Later, the application to take part on the certification was submitted by the Ukrainian national company Naftogaz.
Nord Stream 2 was completed on September 10. The pipeline with a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year will be used by Gazprom to transport gas to Germany through the offshore territories of Russia, Germany, Finland, Sweden and Denmark. The construction was opposed by the authorities of the United States, Poland and Ukraine.