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 the country's regulator has suspended the certification of the Nord Stream 2 operator due to its non-compliance with the EU’s energy regulation.

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

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

Nord Stream 2 to hurt Ukraine's revenue

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

"Over the 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, the volume of gas passing through Ukraine could decrease further, with Ukraine’s transit revenues forecasted at around $1.2 billion per year," it stated in its report. 

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

However, Moscow has made 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 had last month, applied for accreditation with the German energy regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), forcing Ukraine's gas transmission system operator, GTSOU, to request that the dangers to Ukrainian security be considered.

Russia-Ukraine border tensions 

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

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

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

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

(With inputs from agencies, Image: AP)