German Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Robert Habek has called Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline a geopolitical mistake, TASS reported
“Nord Stream 2″ was a mistake from a geopolitical point of view. All European countries except Germany and Austria were always against it,” Habek said. “Now the pipeline has been built. It is not clear whether it will be able to start operating. A decision has to be made on this issue in accordance with European and national law,” Habek told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.
The Vice-Chancellor recalled that Nord Stream 2 had to comply with the norm of so-called unbundling, or the separation of companies. The idea is that the companies involved in the extraction of resources are not allowed to transport them – the two processes require different firms. Habek recalled that this condition has not been met at the moment.
Additionally, the German politician threatened Russia with “harsh consequences in case of a military conflict between Moscow and Kiev”. According to him, in case of a “Russian attack”, the gas pipeline will not be launched at all.
It is noteworthy that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has a fundamentally different opinion. Earlier, he reminded that the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) as a part of the “grand coalition” (CDU/CSU and SPD) has been supporting the construction of the pipeline for a long time and is not going to give it up. According to experts, the difference of opinion on Nord Stream 2 could lead to disagreements between the coalition parties.