AMERICANS ARE NOT GIVING UP: "Nord Stream 2" Project on the Verge of Collapse?

SARAJevo, (Patria) - Europe breathed a little easier on Wednesday as the price of gas fell by 8 percent, to $1950 per thousand cubic meters. Russia was blamed for the price increase because the flow through the Yama - Europe pipeline was stopped, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov resolutely denied this.

"This is a completely commercial situation," Peskov replied, Interfax reports.

Bloomberg agrees with him, stating that the diversion of gas east of Germany, towards Poland, is "likely a result of lower demand from customers in Europe."

Peskov denied linking this case to the issue of the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline starting operations. This is a project that would bypass Ukraine with Russian gas and go directly to Germany, which is opposed by Eastern European countries, some in the West, and also the US, which claim that Germany would thus fall into energy dependence on Moscow.

During the election campaign, the Greens claimed that the pipeline was unnecessary and should not start operating, and Robert Habeck, the new Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, recently told the media that Nord Stream 2 is "a mistake from a geopolitical point of view."

Annalena Baerbock, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, believes that the pipeline does not meet German legal requirements to be put into operation. On November 16, the German regulator refused to issue an operating permit because the consortium building the pipeline is based in Switzerland and must establish a subsidiary in Germany. Reuters reported on December 16 that the German regulator Bundesnetzagentur will not make a decision even in the first half of next year.

Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz continues to defend the pipeline. "Nord Stream 2 is a private sector project that has reached its final completion," is his constant stance. It is a project in which 11 billion euros have been invested, so it is clear why it is difficult to expect it to be simply terminated. Especially in a situation where Germany is divesting from nuclear energy and has committed to ending the use of coal. Gas thus remains almost the only energy source for the transition to a carbon-neutral economy. In one of his responses to questions about Russian pressure, Scholz emphasized that the EU will stop using all fossil fuels by 2050 anyway.

Russia is interested in the pipeline because it provides direct contact with the largest gas buyer at market prices. It is aware that due to the green transition, it must earn as much as possible in this area because at some point, purchases will truly cease. The process of restructuring the Russian economy to reduce the share of energy exports still stands. Gulf countries are further ahead of Moscow in this regard, even slow-moving Saudi Arabia.

At the same time, a harsh blow is being prepared for Nord Stream 2 in the US. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, has agreed with Republican Senator Ted Cruz, a staunch opponent of the pipeline, to vote on new sanctions against companies involved in the project in January, so that Cruz will lift the blockade on voting for ambassadors that Joe Biden wants to send around the world.

This is happening at a time when, according to Reuters, the US is expected to become the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), surpassing Qatar and Australia. This is expected to happen next year, and the US could hold this title for years to come. One of the key reasons why Washington opposed Germany's purchase of Russian gas was to try to sell it as much of its own LNG as possible. Which is more expensive. This is why the US administration, and not the Senate, has a more positive attitude towards the pipeline, reports Jutarnji list.