The predicted natural phenomena in the form of a severe low tide in the Baltic and North Seas, as a result of which the laying of pipes will be impossible, are pushing the project participants to a hasty completion of all work before December 31, due to which Nord Stream-2 will be completed even before Joe Biden will officially become the president of the United States and will be able to impose the next sanctions.
As Ukraina.ru writes, December 2020 is taking place in Europe under the sign of the resumption of the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline after a year’s downtime. A year ago, the Swiss company Allseas, frightened by the US sanctions that had not yet entered into force, recalled its pipe-laying vessels participating in the project and stopped construction of the pipeline.
“We believe that it is necessary to complete the construction of Nord Stream-2, since this project occupies a very important place in our energy agenda. We believe that the dialogue should be continued, because it is the basis for security in Europe”, – said Tino Kruppala, deputy leader of the Alternative for Germany faction in the Bundestag, at a meeting with First Deputy Speaker of the State Duma, Alexander Zhukov.
The same topic, but already in an interview with RIA Novosti, was developed by the official representative of the faction on international politics Armin-Paulus Hampel.
“There is a dispute between the United States and Germany over the completion of the construction of Nord Stream-2, since it is in the American interest to sell natural gas to Europe, but it is not in the interest of Germany because of the too high cost. The German authorities, as noted by the opposition MP, need to proceed from their own national interests: Nord Stream-2 provides Germany with an important source of energy that it needs, regardless of third countries that may shut off the pipeline in some cases, as has happened in the past”, – says the German deputy.
German politicians, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have always, in response to calls to close the project, emphasized that it is purely commercial in nature. As shown by a survey conducted by the Eastern Committee of the German Economy, its implementation is supported by German businessmen working with Russia.
“The companies surveyed support the pipeline project with an impressive majority: for 41%, Nord Stream-2 is an important contribution to the medium and long-term energy supply of Europe, for 29% the pipeline is irreplaceable. Only 15% of those surveyed believe that the pipeline will be redundant in the medium and long term”, – says the report of the Eastern Committee of the German Economy.
As previously announced by the Federal Office for Shipping and Hydrography of Germany, the construction of the “Nord Stream-2”, which began on December 5, will be completed on the 31st. And today the head of the Austrian OMV Rainer Seele, speaking at the Russian-German economic conference, explained why such a time frame: since January it is impossible to carry out any work in German waters due to the peculiarities of flora and fauna.
“Another season is beginning, which is unfavorable for laying pipelines along the bottom due to changes in the water level”, – he said.
Perhaps the matter is really in the vagaries of nature, and perhaps more understandable political reasons lie behind the haste of the German leadership. Be that as it may, if it is indeed possible to complete the construction of the gas pipeline before January 20, the day of the inauguration of the future US president, then Joe Biden (and this, despite Trump’s resistance, will be exactly him) will not have a chance to apply further sanctions, and the further fate of the pipeline will become the subject of lengthy bargaining and mutual concessions between the EU and the United States, but this will not affect the fate of Russian gas in any way.