A ship linked to the Iranian regime’s illicit activities is currently being repurposed to engage in work on a contested Russian-German gas pipeline that has been heavily sanctioned by bipartisan coalitions in Washington, D.C., and is broadly opposed across Europe. The U.S. government has information indicating Russia may attempt to acquire and modify the Oceanic 5000, a crane ship based in Spain’s Canary Islands, for work on the contested Nord Stream 2 pipeline, according to current and former U.S. officials working on the issue. The Oceanic 5000 is known to U.S. officials for helping the Iranian regime build gas pipelines in the Persian Gulf. A senior Trump administration official confirmed the ship’s ties…
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Vladimir Putin Thinks He Can Get Away With Anything
Why has the poisoning of Alexei Navalny been met with Western silence? It is now an established fact, confirmed by laboratories in Germany, France and Sweden, that Alexei Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, a nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union. The powerful poison, which has been used in at least one previous assassination attempt against foes of the Russian regime, was this time employed against a domestic opposition leader who operated openly to expose corruption and challenge the Kremlin. It requires a serious response. Continue reading the news article published on the New York Times website.
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Navalny poisoning: Germany raises pressure on Russia with sanctions talk
German foreign minister tells newspaper he hopes Russia does not force it to rethink Nord Stream 2 project Germany, the current head of the European Union, will discuss possible sanctions on Russia over the poisoning of Alexei Navalny if the Kremlin does not provide an explanation soon, its foreign minister said on Sunday. Russian opposition leader Navalny fell ill on a flight last month and was treated in a Siberian hospital before being evacuated to Berlin.German chancellor Angela Merkel said last week there was “unequivocal evidence” the vocal critic of president Vladimir Putin had been poisoned using Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok. Continue reading the news article published on the Guardian website.
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Wer braucht eigentlich Nord Stream 2?
Als Reaktion auf den Anschlag auf Alexej Nawalny ist ein Baustopp von Nord Stream 2 in der Diskussion. Was wären die wirtschaftlichen Konsequenzen, würde das Pipeline-Projekt gestoppt oder gar beendet? Auch wenn Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel lange das Gegenteil behauptete: Die Nord-Stream-Pipeline war nie ein rein wirtschaftliches Projekt. Sicher, es wurden immer wieder wirtschaftliche Argumente angeführt: Das russische Gas sollte die zurückgehende Förderung in Norwegen, den Niederlanden und anderen europäischen Ländern ausgleichen und außerdem die deutsche Energiewende mit dem Ausstieg aus Kernkraft und Kohle ermöglichen. Doch Russland ging es vor allem um einen direkten Zugang nach Deutschland, ohne von Transitländern wie der Ukraine oder Polen abhängig zu sein. Continue reading the news article on…
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Grüne: Nord Stream 2 wird zum Desaster
Der Streit zwischen Deutschland und den USA um die Putin-Pipeline Nord Stream 2 eskaliert immer weiter. Erst Donnerstag erklärte die Sprecherin des US-Außenamts, Morgan Ortagus, gegenüber BILD, sollte Deutschland nicht umlenken, drohten Sanktionen gegen die beteiligten Unternehmen, „unabhängig von ihrer Herkunft“. Eine klare Warnung an die (zumindest teilweise) deutschen Finanzinvestoren Wintershall DEA und Uniper, die kurz zuvor bereits US-Außenminister Mike Pompeo ausgesprochen hatte. Continue reading the article published on die Bild news website.
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Die deutsche Empörung hat etwas Heuchlerisches!
Schon immer wurde gegen die zweite Gasleitung von Russland nach Deutschland protestiert. Amerikas Ruppigkeit mag inakzeptabel sein. Die Empörung darüber ist aber etwas hergeholt. Im Kongress in Washington wird ein Gesetz vorbereitet, das, sollte es in Kraft treten, nicht nur Unternehmen mit Sanktionen belegen würde, die an der Fertigstellung der Gasleitung Nord Stream 2 arbeiten, sondern auch Behörden. Es träfe vor allem deutsche Unternehmen und Behörden. Continue reading the news article on the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper website.
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Fortsetzung von unlauterem Wettbewerb
Der US-Kongress will die Fertigstellung von Nord Stream 2 mit weiteren Sanktionen verhindern, die nächste Woche angegangen werden sollen Nachdem der gestern demissionierte US-Botschafter Richard Grenell kurz vor seinem Abschied aus der amerikanischen Botschaft in Berlin dem Handelsblatt verraten hatte, dass weitere Sanktionen gegen das Gaspipelineprojekt Nord Stream 2 in seiner Heimat “auf überparteiliche Zustimmung treffen”, bestätigte und konkretisierte eine anonyme Nachrichtenagenturquelle aus dem Kongress diese Information. Ihren Angaben nach wollen zwei Senatoren bereits nächste Woche einen überparteilichen Antrag dazu einbringen, der unter anderem ein amerikanisches Anlegeverbot für am Bau dieser Pipeline beteiligte Schiffe und das Einfrieren von Vermögenswerten natürlicher und juristischer Personen vorsieht. Continue reading the article on the Heise…
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General Court of the European Union declares actions against Directive 2019/692 inadmissible
The General Court of the European Union declares that the actions brought by NordStream AG and NordStream 2 AG against Directive 2019/692, which extends certain rules of the internal market in natural gas to pipelines from third countries, are inadmissible The operators of the NordStream 1 and NordStream 2 pipelines are not, in any event, directly concerned by that directive On 17 April 2019 the Parliament and the Council adopted Directive 2019/6922 (‘the amending directive’) amending Directive 2009/73 concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas. 3 That directive entered into force on 23 May 2019 and was, in principle, to be transposed by the Member States into…
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Germany will not outlaw Stream, but how will the Russians implement it?
The gas directive may delay the launch of Nord Stream 2 An official decision by the German regulator was made that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would not be removed from the gas directive, which could further delay it and reduce its profitability. If the new US sanctions do not stop him, his architects may try to apply EU law so that it does not disturb their interests – writes Wojciech Jakóbik, editor-in-chief of BiznesAlert.pl. Continue reading the in Polish language published blog article on the Wjakobik website.
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Russisches Spezialschiff vor Rügen lässt Konflikt um Nord Stream 2 wieder hochkochen
“Akademik Cherskiy” legt in deutschem Hafen an Seit Ende vergangenen Jahres ist der Bau der Ostsee-Pipeline Nord Stream 2 unterbrochen – und das, obwohl nur noch ein Bruchteil der Strecke fehlt. Ein Verlegeschiff der Firma Gazprom hat jetzt an einem deutschen Hafen angelegt – und der Konflikt droht erneut, zu eskalieren. Lange war es still geworden um die Arbeiten an Nord Stream 2. Die Arbeiten waren Ende 2019 zum Erliegen gekommen, nachdem der US-Kongress unter Führung von US-Präsident Donald Trump Sanktionen gegen Firmen und deren Manager verhängt hatte, die Schiffe zum Bau der Pipeline zur Verfügung gestellt hatten. Daraufhin hatte der in der Schweiz ansässige Offshore-Dienstleister Allseas sein Schiff „Pioneering Spirit“ von…
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Bundesnetzagentur bestätigt EU-Regulierung für Nord Stream 2
Rückschlag für die Nord Stream 2 AG: Die Ostseepipeline soll der europäischen Regulierung unterworfen werden. Das hat die Bundesnetzagentur am Freitag entschieden. Berlin Die Bundesnetzagentur lehnt den Antrag der Nord Stream 2 AG auf Freistellung der Ostsee-Pipeline von der EU-Regulierung ab. Das geht aus dem Tenor der beabsichtigten Entscheidung hervor, den die Bundesnetzagentur den Verfahrensbeteiligten am Freitag zur Stellungnahme verschickt hat. Der Tenor liegt dem Handelsblatt vor. Zur Begründung heißt es darin, Nord Stream 2 erfülle mangels Fertigstellung nicht die Voraussetzungen des Energiewirtschaftsgesetzes für eine Freistellung von der Regulierung. Continue reading the news article on the German Handelsblatt website.
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WHO IS BEHIND THE RENEWED EFFORT TO PUSH NORD STREAM 2 ON EUROPE?
Who Paid for the PR Campaign? The poll was commissioned by the German Eastern Business Association (Ostausschuss – Osteuropaverein der Deutschen Wirtschaft, OAOEV) OAOEV is a fairly new NGO that promotes German business in “Eastern” countries – from Russian to China. It was founded in 2018 through the partnership of the German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations (Eastern Committee) and the Eastern Europe Business Association of Germany. In December 2019, several OAOEV members met with Vladimir Putin. Following the meeting, OAOEV published a press release. Continue reading the news article published on the Free Russia.org website.
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Hot Issue – They’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat: The Curious Voyage of the Akademik Cherskiy
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Autor: Benjamin L. Schmitt Since its announcement in 2015, Russia’s proposed Nord Stream Two natural gas pipeline has remained the infrastructure project posing the largest single threat to the energy and national security of the European Union and Ukraine. The year 2019 witnessed the culmination of years of growing diplomatic opposition to the pipeline and resulted in two tangible actions taken by the Transatlantic community to respond to the national security challenge of the project. First, the European Union passed an update to the Gas Directive of its largest energy market liberalization regulatory framework, the EU Third Energy Package, which will impede Gazprom’s ability to operate the pipeline…
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The Neue Ostpolitik approach to Nord Stream 2: A legal fiction carried a little too far
EnergySource by Dr. Benjamin L. Schmitt On April 10, 2018, signs emerged that the German government was finally beginning to recognize the geostrategic implications of the proposed Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Standing next to then Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated: “I made very clear that a Nord Stream 2 project is not possible without clarity on the future transit role of Ukraine…so you can see that it is not just an economic issue, but there are also political considerations.” In one short statement, the chancellor had seemingly repudiated years of arguments that she and other German politicians had made since the pipeline’s announcement: namely, the claim that…
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Superfluous and politically lethal. The construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is highly contentious. Two German experts present their different views for The Security Times
By Ralf Fücks February 2018. If we listen to those groups advocating on behalf of Nord Stream 2 – the second double pipeline designed to move Russian natural gas through the Baltic Sea – we might come to think the new project is a highly energy-efficient project and politically quite harmless. According to them, Nord Stream 2 will increase European energy security – after all, the Soviet Union was a reliable provider – and remain a purely commercial project. They argue that the European Commission would do well to stay out of the matter, and should refrain from interfering in Germany’s energy sovereignty. Objection, your Honor! Continue reading the blog…
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Congress to target Russian pipeline in defense bill
HALIFAX, Canada ― Congress’s must-pass defense policy bill will be the vehicle to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin’s $11 billion project to deliver natural gas to Europe via a new pipeline from Russia to Germany, a top U.S. lawmaker revealed Friday. Sanctions on companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline have been added to the draft 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch told Defense News on the sidelines of the Halifax International Security Forum. The inclusion of the sanctions in the bill is a strong sign, but House and Senate lawmakers have yet to reach a final deal on the massive bill. Continue reading the…
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Three months left to kill Nord Stream 2
Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act has received overwhelming bipartisan support and proposes targeted sanctions to halt completion of Nord Stream 2, Russia President Vladimir Putin’s natural gas pipeline designed to control Europe. But there has been a procedural delay and time is running out. The act targets sanctions against one company, Allseas, which is providing a critical deep-sea pipe-laying vessel to install Nord Stream 2 on behalf of Gazprom, and it is only three months away from finishing the job unless it is stopped. “There is emerging consensus about placing this sanctions bill in the defense budget bill called the National Defense Authorization Act,” said Daniel Vajdich, whose firm Yorktown Solutions advises…
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Nord Stream 2: Falling at the Last Fence?
Thanks to interventions by Washington or Brussels, Nord Stream 2 may end up either not being completed or, once completed, find that much of the pipeline cannot in fact be used. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline project has been subject to immense controversy ever since President Putin launched the project in tandem with his German business partners in June 2015. Contrary to the desires of the German government, most of the Central and Eastern European EU member states have come out against the pipeline. The EU itself has formally extended EU energy law to import pipelines such as Nord Stream 2, while the Polish authorities have launched antitrust proceedings against the project.…
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Finish the Fight: A Washington-Brussels Double Play Can Still Stop Nord Stream 2
The Washington Nationals’ ubiquitous World Series victory slogan, “fight finished,” has been draped across every corner of the US capital for weeks. At the same time, a second, unfinished fight that for years has united lawmakers in both parties has hit a critical phase. On October 30, officials at the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) issued a final construction permit for the deployment of the Kremlin-conceived Nord Stream 2 pipeline within Denmark’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Danish permit should not be viewed as a tacit approval of the project’s merits. In fact, Danish officials have been public with their concerns about the pipeline’s negative impact—especially for Ukraine’s strategic stability—and resisted the project…
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Wie die GroKo für die Putin-Pipeline trickst
Was tut die Bundesregierung noch alles, um Wladimir Putins Prestige-Projekt „Nord Stream 2“ nach den Wünschen des russischen Gasriesen Gazprom zu realisieren? Die Koalitionsparteien von CDU/CSU und SPD haben nach BILD-Informationen einen Gesetz-Änderungsantrag formuliert, der die verschärften EU-Richtlinien für Pipelines aus Drittstaaten im Fall von „Nord Stream 2“ außer Kraft setzen könnte. Hintergrund: Die überarbeitete Gasdirektive der EU sieht eine komplette Entflechtung von Pipeline-Betreiber und Pipeline-Nutzer/Gaslieferant vor. Gazprom dürfte demnach nicht mehr Eigentümer der Pipeline sein – und zugleich eigenes Gas durch die Pipelines leiten. Dies macht einen Betrieb von „Nord Stream 2“ zu Russlands Konditionen nahezu unmöglich. Continue reading the news article on the German Bild website.
