Nord Stream 2 does not currently respect EU rules, says German minister

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline cannot be certified as is because it does not comply with European Union energy regulations, Germany’s Foreign Minister said on Sunday Annalena Baerbock.

In November, the German energy regulator announced the suspension of the certification procedure for Nord Stream 2 by asking the consortium based in Switzerland and responsible for operating the gas pipeline between Germany and Russia to create a company incorporated under German law.

“And that means that as it is, this gas pipeline cannot be approved, because it does not meet the requirements of European energy law and security issues remain open,” said Annalena Baerbock explained to public broadcaster ZDF.

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline should allow Moscow to supply Europe with natural gas via the Baltic Sea bypassing Ukraine. The project encountered many political obstacles, its opponents, Kiev in the first place, fearing that it would increase Europe’s dependence on Russian gas and that it would be used by Moscow. as a means of pressure.

Earlier on Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said gas was unlikely to pass through the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany if Moscow decided to militarily attack Ukraine.

For his part, the new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz assured Sunday that Germany remains determined to preserve Ukraine’s role as a transit route for gas to Europe.

“We continue to feel responsible for ensuring that Ukraine’s gas transit activity remains successful. The same goes for future opportunities,” he said at a press conference. joint with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

“We will also help Ukraine to be a country that will be a major source of renewable energy and the necessary production from it. We are in concrete talks on how we can help achieve this goal,” added the Chancellor. German.

(Report Christoph Steitz; Blandine Hénault for the French version)