The new German Foreign Minister Annalena Belbok vowed to block the Beixi 2 pipeline during the Russian invasion due to pressure from the United States on the coalition government in Berlin, and fell into diplomatic habits at work. Ukraine.
Controversial pipeline projects from Vyborg in Russia to Lubmin in the northeast GermanyIt is also very likely to be the first test of the unified attitude of the new German government.
The 40-year-old Green co-leader Balbok has long opposed the almost completed giant pipeline, but thanks to the support of the new German Chancellor Olaf Schultz’s Social Democratic Party for the project, the German Alliance plans to maintain this issue. silence.
As NATO and Europe have prepared a deterrence package With the strong support of Britain, Poland, and the Baltic states, the Biden administration aims to intimidate Russia from a military invasion of Ukraine, requiring that if Russia send troops to Ukraine, this pipeline should be part of a broader sanctions program.
Germany is expected to agree, but the conditions may depend on negotiations within the government and reveal the extent to which Baerbock is forced to submit to Scholz’s control of foreign policy.
Balbok and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian delivered a speech in Paris on Thursday, saying: “The territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine is not negotiable for us. Russia Will pay a high political and economic price for another violation of Ukraine’s national status. ”
Among the opposition, Balbok stated that this pipeline will only benefit the Putin regime, undermine the stability of Ukraine, violate the EU’s climate change goals, and conflict with Europe’s geostrategic interests. Scholz is even more evasive on this issue, he is fully aware of the supporters of the pipeline in the SPD team.
Energy Link is not only supported by former Prime Minister Gerhard Schroeder, who is now chairman of the board of Nord Stream, but also has a branch of the center-left party in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, once gas starts there Operation, local residents hope to gain economic advantage in the Baltic Sea.
Scholz stated that he will not let his Green Alliance partners decide the language of his government around Nord Stream 2. “The whole country is getting the attention of the whole world,” he said. “That’s why we, as the government, will act in concert-this starts with the head of government.”
“We have a very clear attitude: We want everyone’s borders to be respected,” Scholz told Le Monde on Wednesday. “Everyone understands that if this is not the case, there will be consequences.” The new prime minister did not explicitly threaten to abandon the project.
Gazprom built the pipeline at a cost of 9.5 billion euros (8.1 billion pounds), overcoming opposition from the United States, Poland, and Ukraine, and is currently awaiting certification from the German regulatory agency, due to legal technical details regarding North Stream’s independence. And the transmission operator who was rejected by Gazprom.
When fully operational, the pipeline will transport 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Germany each year, accounting for approximately 15% of the EU’s total natural gas imports.
The United States abandoned sanctions on German companies involved in the North Stream project in July, but said that if there is evidence that Russia is working to use pipelines or natural gas supplies as a way to force political or broader economic concessions, they may return.
“If Vladimir Putin wants to see natural gas pass through this pipeline, he may not want to risk invading Ukraine,” US National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan said after Putin’s conversation with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday. The US Congress strongly supports this measure.
Before visiting Warsaw on Friday, Belbok also faced pressure from Poland on this issue. “I will call on Prime Minister Schultz not to succumb to Russian pressure, and not to allow Beixi 2 to be used as a tool to blackmail Ukraine, a tool to blackmail Poland, and a tool to blackmail the European Union,” Polish Prime Minister Mattusz Moravi Tski said during a visit to Rome.
Even if sanctions are not imposed in the near future, the new German government must clarify whether it wants the pipeline to continue if the threat to Ukraine is lifted.
It is not yet clear what the legal basis of the pipeline is. It has long been regarded by the former German government as an economic project with almost no geopolitical consequences and needs to be approved in accordance with the EU Energy Competition Law.
The EU rules require “splitting”, that is, companies that produce, transport and distribute natural gas within the EU are independent legal entities, and third parties with non-discriminatory and transparent pricing structures can use pipelines such as Nord Stream 2.
The North Stream issue is part of the self-imposed pressure of the new German government to place greater emphasis on human rights and values in its foreign policy.
Because France refuses to join Diplomatic boycott of the Beijing OlympicsBalbok stated that Germany will make the decision together with its European friends. France will host the Summer Olympics in 2024 and does not want to see the event become a victim of geopolitics.
After visiting Warsaw on Friday, Balbok will travel to Liverpool to participate in the G7 foreign ministers meeting hosted by the United Kingdom.
The Liberal Democratic Party (FDP), the third coalition partner of the German “traffic light” government, also positions itself as opposed to this pipeline.
