The German Government refuses to activate the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline

The German liberals seem to already have their Gerhard Schroeder.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
19 August 2022 Friday 16:42
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The German Government refuses to activate the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline

The German liberals seem to already have their Gerhard Schroeder. If the former Social Democratic chancellor was placed at the center of the controversy due to his friendship with Putin and his well-paid positions on the boards of directors of Russian energy companies, the vice president of the Bundestag, Wolfgang Kubicki, yesterday launched the proposal to open the Nord-Stream gas pipeline 2 so that "people do not freeze in winter and that our industry does not suffer serious damage". The initiative was immediately rejected both by the German government and by the liberal party itself, a partner in the coalition and to which Kubicki belongs.

"We have a gas pipeline in operation, Nord Stream 1, which at full capacity is sufficient to cover the gas needs in Germany," said a spokesman for the Ministry of Economy, while the Government added that Nord Stream 2 has already been paralyzed " for a good reason”, as it was to respond to Moscow's recognition of the self-proclaimed people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. Also from his own party they criticized Kubicki and reminded him that “Nord Stream 2 is dead”.

The truth is that the opening of this gas pipeline would not contribute anything at a time when its predecessor, the Nord Stream 1, is operating below its capacities, subject to pressure maneuvers from Moscow to punish a country so dependent on its gas. how is Germany. Just yesterday, Gazprom announced the closure of this gas pipeline from August 31 to September 2 alleging the need for maintenance work.

Kubicki is criticized for buying into the Kremlin's doctrine and casting doubt on the determination to rid itself of dependence on Russia altogether. It is in this sense that he could be compared to the socialist Schroeder, who, if he was already frowned upon for being placed on the payroll of Russian companies, was even more criticized when the war broke out in Ukraine.

The great German geostrategic error of giving priority to cheap gas at the cost of depending on Moscow continues to hit them, now in the form of surprising proposals to reopen a gas pipeline that has become the symbol of their political myopia. A Nord Stream 2 built despite the warnings of two North American presidents, Obama and Trump, that it would have further increased dependence on Russia and that it was frozen when it only lacked administrative permits.

This controversy comes the day after the German government decided to temporarily lower VAT on gas to 7% instead of the current 19%. A measure designed to alleviate the cost borne by households and businesses due to rising prices. The reduction also aims to compensate citizens for the new gas rate that will come into force in the fall. The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said that the VAT reduction will relieve consumers and assumed that companies will completely pass on this reduction to the public.