Politico: German authorities published a report on the assessment of Nord Stream 2

BERLIN, 13 Oct – PRIME. The German government published an audit report dated October 26, 2021, which assesses the safety of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline for gas supply to Germany and the European Union, according to the conclusions, the project did not jeopardize European gas supply, Politico reported, citing a published document.

According to the publication, the government granted access to the audit estimate only after journalists from the German magazine Spiegel requested access to the document and threatened the government with a lawsuit if it did not publish the file.

“Based on the results of the assessment, it is concluded that the provision of the certificate does not jeopardize the security of the gas supply in Germany and the European Union,” the government’s report says.

The report also dismissed concerns from Eastern European partners such as Poland and Ukraine that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, designed to transport gas directly from Russia to northern Germany, would increase risks to Europe’s energy supply. The authors of the assessment also note that “both for the German and neighboring markets, the risk of a serious deterioration in the security of supply due to the failure of individual import supply infrastructures is very limited.”

The publication indicates that the document is dated October 26, 2021, that is, in the last days of the government of ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel, in which the current leader of Germany, Olaf Scholz, was in the role of vice chancellor. Earlier, Scholz said in his speeches that he was “always sure” that the Russian leadership would use its energy supplies “as a weapon.”

As Politico notes, the release of the report will raise questions about how closely Scholz was involved in approving the Nord Stream 2 assessment while serving as Vice Chancellor.

Germany withdrew its safety assessment of the project and stopped the certification of Nord Stream 2 in February this year.