As we, in fact, predicted a couple of weeks ago, the German Federal Grid Agency rejected the request to exempt the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from the requirements of the updated EU Gas Directive. As the operator’s press service explained in response, the company, in turn, “took note” of the information on the website of the Federal Network Agency of Germany on the rejection of the application for release and, naturally, expressed its disagreement.

It was also reported there that Nord Stream 2 AG initially assumed that the project was created and all investments in it were carried out in accordance with the invoice of the previous EU Gas Directive until it was changed in the spring of 2019. Which, in this way, begins to be applied with retroactive force, which, from the point of view of the operator, behind which the leading European energy concerns stand, is legal nonsense.

Let us make a reservation right away: for us - for the Russian Federation - this at the current time, although it looks unpleasant, is, in fact, not particularly important.

In the end, for the next five years we were able to keep even the “Ukrainian route” to be safe, therefore, all this fuss is unlikely to prevent the execution of Gazprom’s “long” contracts. And fussing with the resolution of legal delays, especially against the backdrop of the markets that are obviously falling due to the pandemic and the accompanying systemic economic and, potentially, energy crisis, it makes no sense to us.

This must be dealt with and already de facto engaged by European concerns behind the Nord Stream 2 AG project. And for some reason there is not the slightest doubt that, using the arising time odds, they will definitely solve this issue positively.

Still, they will try for themselves, and not for the uncle from the Russian Gazprom - and it’s somehow very silly not to understand.

Apparently, our task is to complete the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline itself, already in fact fully funded by Europeans. At least, the Russian pipe-laying vessel Akademik Cherskiy, whose movements from the Far East into the cold Baltic waters, with bated breath, was monitored by all specialized and not quite specialized media, still passed in silence. He refueled in the Kaliningrad port and now calmly moored at the pier of the German port of Mukran, which, by a strange coincidence, served as the logistics base for the Nord Stream 2 project. By the way, on the way to Germany the ship made a detour to go along the gas pipeline route - and this is also quite reasonable: water not the most familiar, but the scope of work, both done by the predecessors and the upcoming ones, you need to clearly imagine.

Pragmatic guys.

Also at the neighboring pier in Mukran is the Fortuna barge, which has already been working on the project off the coast of Russia, in shallow water, and there is a suspicion that Chersky and Fortuna have already been suspected this week, as reported by interested American media , already delivering pipes from storage, will leave Mukran. And they will disperse in different directions to start laying towards each other: Chersky, which meets all the requirements of the Danes, from the islands.

Fortuna has experience in working in shallow water, which is why it seems that it will “work” the shelf off the coast of Germany. And it is unlikely that any Federal Network Agency will be able to prevent it in this at least somehow.

What is more interesting to us here. In fact, in parallel with the decision of the obvious "atlantists" from the German Federal Network Agency for the "containment of Russian gas", their colleagues and associates from, admittedly, not the most friendly modern course of the FRG of Poland, reported (although it was well known without them) that the deadline would expire in May a twenty-five year agreement on gas transit between Russia and Poland through the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline.

The agreement will not be extended, the Russian side has already confirmed this.

Formally, another minus almost 35 billion cubic meters per year of Gazprom’s export to Europe.

In fact, of course, this is not entirely true: by and large, nothing has changed much for our exporter, the Russian company will now simply banalize the capacities of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline at quarterly auctions.

And by the way, no longer waiting for the negotiations with the Poles to end, I calmly bought myself the right to pump 6.1 billion cubic meters of gas in the III quarter of this year 2020.

In full compliance with EU energy regulations.

An auction for quarterly capacities for the period from July 1 to September 30 was held on May 4, and Gazprom, as the only bidder, was not disturbed by anyone at all.

But even this is not the most funny thing in the current circumstances.

The funny thing is that everything that is happening in the current regime around Russian gas exports to Europe painfully resembles not even a theater that is embodied in an economic cataclysm, but some kind of Broadway-Odessa “musical of the absurd”. When the old Jewish grandfather had already refused to die, he married a young one and feels great. And his “inheritance” is still being continued to be shared, not paying attention to the vigor of the old man, and the fact that the young one, in fact, is already quite a while pregnant.

Here, after all, the most interesting question is not in general circumstances, on the contrary, in terrible specifics: but for whose sake do our Euro-Atlantic friends perform all this music in the unforgettable rhythm of “seven forty”?

If it is in the interests of the notorious American LNG, then we are in a hurry to disappoint you a little: the construction of liquefaction plants on the East Coast has been suspended not out of love for Russia in general and Gazprom in particular. And simply because the American “shale industry”, which is tied to both “shale oil” and at least “shale” gas, is now, to put it mildly, “lying”: moreover, lying down continues to fall, although it would seem even theoretically impossible.

But yes, look at the dynamics of oil prices and do not ask stupid questions.

Therefore, let’s not say that European markets are being cleared for American shale gas, this, perhaps, would be relevant six months or a year ago: now it’s “gas from a different reality”.

In the current scary reality of COVID-19 and the oil crisis, we can assume that this American shale gas is simply not in the equation. Yes, even if he were - only a madman enters such falling goods into falling markets. And with all the delightful creative and political originality of big American business, there are simply absolutely no idiots among these rather pragmatic people. Competition does not stand up, excuse me: in its pure form, we can say practiced social Darwinism.

Therefore, there are only two explanations for what is happening here.

Or, “at the place of registration”, they are completely European, but the institutions oriented towards Brussels and Washington are acting strictly inertia, according to the previous instructions and ignoring the frightening new economic reality that appears outside the windows of their headquarters. Or, they did not have the task of promoting the aggression of the American "shale" into European markets. More precisely - it stood, but as a secondary one.

And the main purpose of their existence, as it was, remains the economic defeat of European industry in the competition with the same United States: including by depriving the North European (German or Baltic, you can call it whatever) industrial cluster of its resource base and “Russian pipeline gas. " If so, then what is happening, although it bears all forms of national treason and betrayal by European energy officials of European interests, but at least looks at least logical.

And this potential European betrayal of Europe by part of the European elites - now it, unlike the ridiculous attempts of both the German energy bureaucrats and their Polish colleagues, is really dangerous for us.

And it also harms the interests of Gazprom.

Because if the Americans by the hands of European officials beat the European economy, then who will have our wonderful natural gas to buy from us? But there is still hope that a healthy instinct of self-preservation is still inherent in the European peoples and that events will still not reach such extremes.

The author’s point of view may not coincide with the position of the publisher.