{"id":45212,"date":"2021-01-30T21:35:03","date_gmt":"2021-01-30T20:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/?p=45212"},"modified":"2025-06-30T09:08:45","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T07:08:45","slug":"de-2021-01-30-dw-nord-stream-2-dead-in-the-water-despite-construction-reboot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/sv\/de-2021-01-30-dw-nord-stream-2-dead-in-the-water-despite-construction-reboot\/","title":{"rendered":"DE 2021.01.30 Russian ship Resumes Work"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Russia\u2019s Fortuna pipe-laying vessel is crucial in completing the construction of Nord Stream 2<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Baltic Sea Natural Gas Pipeline<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A Political Wrestling Match<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The EU and Germany are stuck in the middle,<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Baltic Sea natural gas pipeline has become a political wrestling match, with the United States on one side and Russia on the other. Germany and the EU are stuck in the middle. DW gives you an overview.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The endgame for a project worth billions is underway in the Baltic Sea. But the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has long since become a political hot potato.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only 148 of the 1,230 kilometers (764 miles) are still to be completed. The huge snaking pipe on the seabed is the second phase of a project that has already been in operation for more than a decade. The pipeline is intended to carry even more Russian gas to Germany and on to Western Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But resistance is growing. The project could still fail\u00a0just a few months\u00a0before its completion, especially as US President Joe Biden is just as keen to keep up sanctions imposed by his predecessor, Donald Trump. However,\u00a0construction continues despite\u00a0the political dispute<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opponent: The US<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Even before Biden\u2019s inauguration, it was clear that trans-Atlantic relations were to be given a fresh start: a return to old partnerships, multilateralism, and international cooperation. But it won\u2019t be quite that simple, and there is agreement on both sides of the Atlantic on that, too. Even Biden knows that there is some truth to the boorish claims made by the now-former president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Pipe<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pipe segments for Nord Stream 2 are being stored in Mukran Port, Germany<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Germany\u2019s military spending is just one example. Nord Stream 2,\u00a0which is unloved in Washington, is another.\u00a0This became apparent\u00a0during the Senate hearing of Anthony Blinken, the new US secretary of state.\u00a0Blinken has a very different tone from his predecessor, Mike Pompeo, except when it\u00a0comes to\u00a0Russian gas supplies to Europe<\/strong><\/a>. He has vowed to use sanctions passed by the US Congress to stall the completion of the pipeline, if necessary.\u00a0 Biden, too, it seems, is prepared to do everything in his power to prevent Nord Stream 2 from operating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind this supposedly tough US stance\u00a0are\u00a0economic interests: Washington wants to promote the sale of US\u00a0fracked gas to Europe, which will aid Biden\u2019s\u00a0Buy American program to boost the domestic economy. At the same time, there is the foreign policy objective of not strengthening Russia\u2019s power. The new US administration\u2019s\u00a0policies will likely align with its own interests, which is to maintain US dominance while not being as hostile as Trump’s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The advocate: Russia<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, insists\u00a0that Nord Stream 2 will be completed. At his annual news conference in December, he vowed:\u00a0\u201cNord Stream 2 is without any doubt an absolutely\u00a0beneficial project for the entire economy of Europe<\/strong><\/a>, including Germany.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Konstantin Kossachev, head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Federation Council  \u2014Russia\u2019s upper house of parliament \u2014 echoed those remarks earlier this month, saying, \u201cIn our strategic planning, we assume that Germany has always considered this an economic and not a political project. We believe this position will be maintained.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not everyone in Russia shares this opinion, however. Mikhail Krutikhin, a partner in the consulting firm RusEnergy, believes the project is long dead. In a radio interview earlier this month, he said: \u201cThis project already died in December 2019, when the US Congress passed a sanctions law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Nord<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In mid-January, Gazprom, the Russian state-owned corporation involved in the construction, no longer ruled out the project\u2019s failure in a prospectus for the issuance of corporate bonds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This caused quite a stir in Russia as Gazprom has firmly factored Nord Stream 2 into its revenue projections. If the pipeline is delayed or shelved, the Russian energy giant will have to transport more of its gas through Ukraine, assuming that demand from Europe is unchanged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, Gazprom faces headwinds from other pipeline projects south of the Russian border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Divided: The EU<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Brussels insists that\u00a0Nord Stream 2\u00a0is not a European project<\/strong><\/a> but essentially a German matter. The European Union\u2019s foreign affairs envoy, Josep Borrell, said late last year that the future of the project was in German hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After tough negotiations, the EU changed its gas directive so that it must now be applied to pipelines carrying gas from third countries to the EU. The decision means the Swiss-based Nord Stream 2 company must keep its pipeline and the sale of gas separate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, the European Parliament last week\u00a0called for the scrapping of\u00a0Nord Stream 2<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0by a large majority, saying that Russia\u2019s influence on the European energy market was becoming too great and that the Kremlin should be punished because of its human rights abuses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among EU member states, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and France are in favor of pipeline construction. Poland and Lithuania, on the other hand, are united in their opposition because they foresee blackmail by Russia over energy supplies, citing rows between existing Russian gas transit countries such as Ukraine and Slovakia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the European Commission is lukewarm, it stands firmly in favor of the project\u2019s operators when it comes to the US sanctions threat. It says that the penalties would violate international law and would prompt retaliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Restrained: Germany<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The German government considers the pipeline a positive step, but is always keen to\u00a0emphasize\u00a0that it is a \u201cpurely economic project.\u201d After the poisoning of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny last year, ministers faced strong pressure to scrap the project. Berlin,\u00a0however, stuck to its guns:\u00a0The Navalny case and the pipeline are two different things<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environmental concerns have also been played down, with Economy Minister Peter Altmaier telling the business daily Handelsblatt<\/em> that it is \u201cproblematic to threaten projects every few months that have been planned for decades,\u201d adding that \u201cprivate investors will no longer be willing to commit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Fridays<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The section of the pipeline in German waters is already finished.
Fridays for Future campaigners do not want Nord Stream 2 to become operational<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

How much gas is needed?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Gas reserves in Germany and Europe are currently plentiful. Almost three months\u2019 supply is held in storage, according to energy experts Franziska Holz and Claudia Kemfert of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a brief report for the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union of Germany (NABU), they insisted there is no \u2033coverage gap\u2033 for gas in Germany. In other words, demand will not exceed supply in the short term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Energy economist Marc Oliver Bettz\u00fcge\u00a0concludes\u00a0in an interview with the\u00a0Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung<\/em>\u00a0that Nord Stream 2 is \u2033not of existential importance for the security and economic viability of gas supply in Germany or Europe\u201d. However,\u00a0the\u00a0gas price could fall\u00a0\u2033perceptibly\u2033 as a result of its completion<\/strong><\/a>, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the long run, energy experts agree that every additional source makes Germany more independent, especially as the country produces only a fraction of its own energy needs. Nord Stream 2 would also provide another gas corridor in the event of attacks on energy facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adversaries: Fossil fuels and the planet<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To meet climate protection targets, we need to phase out coal, oil, and gas completely, said Niklas H\u00f6hne, a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and head of the NewClimate Research Institute in Cologne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2033That means we need less gas and less gas infrastructure overall in Germany, not more, \u2033 H\u00f6hne told DW. With\u00a0Nord Stream 2, \u201cwe would rely on more gas, which would be counterproductive for climate protection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environment Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) has nevertheless spoken out in favor of continued construction. After the phaseout of coal and nuclear power, natural gas is needed for a transition period, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

H\u00f6hne sees her assessment of gas as a bridging technology as outdated. \u2033We had 10 years to phase out greenhouse gas emissions slowly, but we have gambled away this time.\u2033 A major problem of natural gas is its high greenhouse gas emissions. Natural gas consists mainly of methane, and according to the IPCC, it has had an effect\u00a087 times worse than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, small amounts of methane are released during the extraction, transport, and storage of natural gas. According to DIW\u2019s report, the carbon footprint of high leakage rates during extraction or transport is about the same as that of coal if the entire life cycle of emissions is taken into account.\u201d In other words, gas is probably no less harmful than coal in the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: DW & nn.by<\/strong>
EN https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/nord-stream-2-dead-in-the-water-despite-construction-reboot\/a-56388253<\/a><\/strong>
RU https:\/\/nn.by\/?c=ar&i=267541&fbclid=IwAR2vfeq0sUuGWFdW0mPHmoarKtnOIAMepmBx41i6zWq66FlMCpI4VMld6gI<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Russia\u2019s Fortuna pipe-laying vessel is crucial in completing the construction of Nord Stream 2 The Baltic Sea Natural Gas Pipeline A Political Wrestling Match The EU and Germany are stuck in the middle, The Baltic Sea natural gas pipeline has become a political wrestling match, with the United States on one side and Russia on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49857,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}