A politician from the CDU, expected to lead Germany\u2019s next government, has for the first time spoken in favor of putting the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline back into operation.<\/p>\n
CDU Member of Parliament Thomas Barei\u00df stated on LinkedIn that if “peace” is achieved between Russia and Ukraine, “sooner or later” the “embargoes” will also be lifted, and in that case, gas flow could resume.<\/p>\n
Barei\u00df, who served as Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs until 2021, made this statement in response to reports in the US and British media that US businessmen are planning to take over the company operating Nord Stream 2.<\/p>\n
Such a takeover is expected to further increase the US influence over the EU\u2019s natural gas supply. US liquefied natural gas (LNG) already accounts for approximately half of the EU\u2019s total LNG imports in 2023.<\/p>\n
However, the import share of Russian LNG is also increasing again. A robust Nord Stream 2 pipeline could transport approximately 27.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, which corresponds to about one-third of Germany\u2019s imports.<\/p>\n
Initial reports regarding US activities related to Nord Stream 2 emerged last November. At that time, The Washington Post<\/em> reported that US businessman Stephen Lynch applied to the US regulatory agency, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), on February 28, 2024, to take over the Swiss-registered and sanctioned company operating the pipeline.<\/p>\n It was thought that this would be in the interest of the US, as the natural gas pipeline would thus become US property, and therefore be under US political control.<\/p>\n Lynch is also believed to have very good connections in Moscow, as he was involved in the efforts to transfer the foreign companies of Mikhail Khodorkovsky\u2019s now-defunct Yukos Group to Rosneft\u2019s ownership in 2007.<\/p>\n He also succeeded in taking over the sanctioned Swiss branch of the Russian Sberbank in 2022.<\/p>\n Lynch now states that he has experience in the “Russification” of sanctioned companies and wants to use this to take over Nord Stream 2.<\/p>\n Although this plan was considered “hopeless” under former US President Joe Biden, this may change with President Donald Trump\u2019s announcement that he wants to end the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n The Financial Times<\/em> also addressed the issue in early March. Meanwhile, the bankruptcy proceedings against the company operating Nord Stream 2, which were opened in Switzerland and were scheduled to end on January 9, 2025, have been postponed until May 9 of this year at the request of the company\u2019s owner, Gazprom.<\/p>\n Gazprom stated that a change of government in the US and early elections in the German Federal Assembly could have “significant consequences” for the external situation of the natural gas pipeline.<\/p>\n In the meantime, there is at least one other party interested in Nord Stream 2; a US-led consortium is much further ahead in its preparations than Lynch and is apparently also engaged in concrete negotiations.<\/p>\n According to The Financial Times<\/em>, some leading members of the Trump administration have been informed about the processes; these individuals see the processes as part of Washington\u2019s efforts to re-establish some political relations with Moscow.<\/p>\n In addition, any agreement on Nord Stream 2 could be part of a comprehensive agreement to end the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n Finally, The Financial Times<\/em> points out that the takeover of the natural gas pipeline by a US-led consortium would give the US additional influence over Europe\u2019s natural gas supply.<\/p>\n Of course, Nord Stream 2 can only be put back into operation with the express consent of the German government. So far, no such approval has been given.<\/p>\n A government spokesman, referring to the FT report, stated that Nord Stream 2 was “not certified” in 2021 due to the escalating dispute over the pipeline and therefore “can never be used.”<\/p>\n In addition, the European Commission rejected the idea of re-operating the undamaged parts of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. A Commission spokesman in Brussels said that the pipeline would not be in the EU\u2019s interest because it would not “diversify” the EU\u2019s energy supply and would “re-establish dependence on an unreliable partner, Russia.”<\/p>\n It is also unclear whether Germany is currently involved in the negotiations. The Washington Post<\/em> referred to the Berlin Global Advisors agency, which also included the former German ambassador to Moscow, R\u00fcdiger von Fritsch. The agency did not confirm this.<\/p>\n The former managing director of Nord Stream 2, Mathias Warnig, also explicitly denied The Financial Times\u2019<\/em> statements that he was involved in discussions regarding the commissioning of the natural gas pipeline.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, CDU Member of Parliament Thomas Barei\u00df is the first politician from a future German government coalition to speak out publicly in favor of Nord Stream 2 becoming operational.<\/p>\n Barei\u00df said on LinkedIn, “When peace is restored and the weapons are laid down between Russia and Ukraine (and hopefully this will happen soon), relations will normalize. Sooner or later, the embargoes will fall, and of course, gas can flow again.”<\/p>\n The CDU Member of Parliament explained, referring to the plans of a US-led consortium and Stephen Lynch, that this would “perhaps be in a US-controlled pipeline this time.”<\/p>\n Barei\u00df added that since “Europe will continue to be dependent on gas imports in the future” and pipeline gas is “much cheaper and at the same time more environmentally\/climate-friendly than LNG gas,” natural gas imported via Nord Stream 2 would “certainly quickly find buyers in Europe.”<\/p>\n Barei\u00df is currently one of the CDU\u2019s coalition negotiators with the SPD in the working group on transport and infrastructure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A politician from the CDU, expected to lead Germany\u2019s next government, has for the first time spoken in favor of putting the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline back into operation. CDU Member of Parliament Thomas Barei\u00df stated on LinkedIn that if “peace” is achieved between Russia and Ukraine, “sooner or later” the “embargoes” will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8422,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2314,319,8024,3865,8023,2518,7758,441,543,503,2338,4288,7414,5570,683,8025,8021,822,8022],"class_list":["post-8421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","tag-cdu","tag-donald-trump","tag-embargoes","tag-energy-security","tag-energy-supply","tag-european-commission","tag-gas-imports","tag-gazprom","tag-germany","tag-headline","tag-lng","tag-natural-gas","tag-nord-stream-2","tag-pipeline","tag-russia","tag-stephen-lynch","tag-thomas-bareis","tag-ukraine","tag-us-influence"],"yoast_head":"\n