German minister says Nord Stream 2 authorisation stopped for non-compliance with EU law

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday, as she arrived at a meeting of European Union (EU) foreign ministers in Brussels, that country's regulator has suspended certification of Nord Stream 2 operator due to its non-compliance with EU’s energy regulation.

" Federal Network Agency has suspended certification process due to existence of clear regulation in European law regarding energy area on unbundling and or issues of (company’s) structure," Baerbock was quoted by Russian state-owned news agency, TASS, as saying. 

Notably, announcement comes two days after Baerbock said that Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will not be allowed to operate at all if re is any Russian escalation along Ukraine's border. 

Nord Stream 2 to hurt Ukraine's revenue

It should be mentioned here that International Monetary Fund h, in a report published in November, stated that  projected activation of Nord Stream 2 pipeline would reduce Ukraine’s gas transit revenues.

"Over last five years, Ukraine received an average of just over $2.5 billion per year in return for making its gas pipelines available to Gazprom. In 2021, transits fees are expected to be around 40% less than (in) recent years. Once Nord Stream 2 is operational, volume of gas passing through Ukraine could decrease furr, with Ukraine’s transit revenues forecasted at around $1.2 billion per year," it stated in its report. 

Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project between Russia and Germany will allow Russia-owned Gazprom to bypass Ukraine in supplying natural gas to Europe, leing to severe financial losses for Kyiv. ditionally, US and some of its allies have on several occasions opposed Nord Stream 2 project citing concerns that it may give Moscow leverage over Europe's energy supply chain.  

However, Moscow has me it clear that Nord Stream 2 is a commercial project being carried out in collaboration with European partners and asserted that it has never used energy resources as a political weapon,

Nord Stream 2 AG h last month, applied for accreditation with German energy regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), forcing Ukraine's gas transmission system operator, GTSOU, to request that dangers to Ukrainian security be considered.

Russia-Ukraine border tensions 

Last week, during a phone call with Vlimir Putin, US President Joe Biden h urged his Russian counterpart to take path of diplomacy to de-escalate situation along Russia-Ukraine border or face harsh economic sanctions. Putin, on or hand, h demanded that West guarantee that Ukraine would not become a NATO launchp.

Separately, Russian foreign ministry h also said that NATO was on a path to draw in Ukraine, leing to deployment of missile systems re that would target Russia. But Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of preparing for a possible large-scale military offensive. Kremlin denies planning any such attacks.

Meanwhile, amid rising tensions, European Union has sided with Ukraine. Last Friday, EU warned Moscow that it would face consequences if it inved Ukraine.

“Aggressions needs to come with a price tag, which is why we will communicate se points ahe of time to Russia,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. 

(With inputs from agencies, Image: AP)