The German government excludes the launch of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to solve problems with gas shortages in the country.

This was announced on Monday, August 8, by the official representative of the German Cabinet, Steffen Hebestrait.

“It is clear that difficult months are ahead of us, that the reduction of gas supplies from Russia to Germany is a challenge for all of us.

It is also clear that we are firmly on the side of Ukraine and will support the sanctions agreed upon in the EU and the international community ... the launch of Nord Stream 2 as a pipeline is not allowed and will not be allowed at the moment, ”TASS quotes Hebeshtreit.

According to him, the leadership of Germany has already taken various measures to resolve the difficult situation in the German energy market.

In particular, Berlin has begun building terminals for receiving liquefied natural gas (LNG), Hebestreit said.

However, the approved initiatives will not allow Germany to quickly arrange gas supplies from other sources and thereby completely replace Russian raw materials.

This point of view in an interview with RT was expressed by the head of the analytical department of AMarkets Artyom Deev.

“The German authorities, to put it mildly, are cunning when they talk about LNG terminals.

So far, there is not a single regasification terminal for receiving LNG on the territory of Germany - the construction of the first one began only in July this year.

The state received gas through pipelines, and now, against the backdrop of falling supplies from Russia, there is nothing to completely replace such volumes, ”Deev emphasized.

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Recall that gas supplies from Russia to Germany began to decline sharply back in June.

Thus, over the past two months, the pumping of raw materials through the Nord Stream pipeline has fallen by almost five times - to 33 million cubic meters.

m per day (about 20% of the total capacity of the highway).

The reason was problems with the return of the Siemens turbine to Gazprom after repair.

Initially, the equipment could not be returned due to anti-Russian sanctions of Canada, where the unit was being serviced.

Later, Ottawa, at the request of Berlin, eased the restrictions and sent the engine, but the unit "got stuck" during transit through Germany.

At the moment, the parties cannot yet agree on guarantees and documents for transporting the engine to Russia.

In the meantime, the life of other turbines, with the exception of one necessary for the operation of Nord Stream, has come to an end, and Gazprom has turned them off because it cannot send them in for repairs.

Along with this, the pumping of gas through the Yamal-Europe pipeline stopped due to restrictions from Poland.

In turn, Ukraine halved the transit of Russian raw materials through its territory.

According to experts, only the Turkish Stream is operating at full capacity today, but it is designed for deliveries mainly to Eastern Europe.

At the same time, Nord Stream 2 is fully prepared to meet the needs of the EU, but is closed for “purely political reasons,” as previously stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“All investments in this megaproject were carried out in full compliance with EU legislation, however, as soon as everything was ready to start functioning, the European Commission retroactively, I emphasize this, adopted the standards that are still used to “slow down” this gas pipeline, which is most important for Europe’s energy security. ", Lavrov explained.

  • Sergei Lavrov

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"It would mean surrender"

In Germany itself, there have been increasing calls to launch Nord Stream 2 lately.

At the end of July, the authorities of seven German cities addressed the German government with a corresponding request.

The head of the country's Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, and former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, also proposed putting the line into operation.

“When things get really tight, this pipeline is there, and with both Nord Stream gas pipelines (and Nord Stream 2. -

RT

) there will be no supply problems for German industry and German households ... If you don’t want to use Nord flow - 2 "will have to bear the consequences.

They will be huge,” Schroeder told Stern.

However, according to the current Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Olaf Scholz, the certification of Nord Stream 2 was suspended "for good reasons", and the launch of the gas pipeline "does not make reasonable sense."

A similar point of view was voiced by German Economy Minister Robert Habeck.

“The approval of Nord Stream 2 would once again increase dependence on Russian gas – this is exactly the opposite of what we have been doing for the past six months.

And of course, this would also mean capitulation with all the sanctions measures that we have taken, ”RIA Novosti quoted Khabek as saying.

  • Robert Habeck

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Meanwhile, in Germany, at the end of June, the second level of the emergency plan for gas was announced.

In total, the initiative provides for three critical stages: the first implies an early warning stage, the second - the level of alert, and the third - the introduction of a state of emergency.

Today, Berlin is actively urging citizens and businesses to reduce gas consumption, and in a number of German cities, authorities are resorting to turning off building lights, hot water in offices, and lowering indoor temperatures.

At the same time, in the event of the introduction of the third stage of the emergency plan, the German authorities will begin to resort to shutting down enterprises or forcibly reducing the supply of fuel for industry.

A victim of principles

According to the latest data from the European Gas Infrastructure Association, now underground gas storage facilities (UGS) in Germany are almost 72% full in total.

Berlin expects to bring the figure to 95% by November 1, but the German Federal Network Agency considers this task unrealistic given the current volume of Russian gas supplies.

Moreover, even if German UGSFs can still be filled to the required level, the country may still not have enough raw materials to survive the winter.

This was previously announced at the American Institute of International Finance (IIF).

“By the end of autumn, the occupancy of German gas storage facilities usually reaches 90%.

This allows Germany to survive the winter with Nord Stream running at 100%.

But right now, Nord Stream's capacity is only 20%, so even if storage levels somehow reach 90%, it won't be enough.

We will have to introduce rationing (gas consumption. -

RT

),” said the chief economist of the organization, Robin Brooks.

Vladislav Antonov, a financial analyst at BitRiver, shares a similar assessment.

According to him, during the heating season, full storage facilities help ensure gas consumption only if fuel continues to flow uninterruptedly into the country.

Solving problems with the turbine for Nord Stream or launching Nord Stream 2 could correct the current situation, but in the context of the political struggle between Berlin and Moscow, the actions of the Federal Republic of Germany are increasingly devoid of economic sense, the expert believes.

“German officials fundamentally do not want to admit their mistakes.

It is better to freeze the population and close all factories than to solve the gas crisis.

Due to high gas prices, the EU industry is becoming uncompetitive.

Many enterprises may close due to gas shortages and high costs.

For Europeans, high gas prices are an increase in utility bills, ”said the interlocutor of RT.

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In the context of rising gas prices, the cost of electricity in Germany over the past year has increased more than five times, from €68 to €345 per 1 MWh, according to data from the Nord Pool exchange.

Under the current conditions, the German authorities are going to introduce an additional fee for gas consumers and thus pass on to the citizens the increased costs of industry for fuel.

According to Artyom Deev, as the heating season approaches, the rhetoric of the German authorities may change, and the current restrictions are likely to be revised.

Otherwise, the country will face an increase in the number of bankruptcies in various areas and an increase in social tension, the analyst is sure.

Moreover, according to Vladislav Antonov, the problems of Germany - the largest economy in the EU - can be transferred to other countries in the region.

“Germany is already showing near-zero economic growth.

Against the backdrop of a significant increase in household and business spending, the German government will be forced to subsidize them and enter a recession.

The realization of this negative scenario today is very likely.

Germany, as the main economy of Europe, can become a key driver of the development of the economic crisis in the eurozone,” Antonov concluded.