According to a report, the Ministry of Economic Affairs is considering the expropriation of parts of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in view of the increasingly scarce gas supplies. However, that would be dangerous – and could lead to retaliatory measures by Putin.
Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck’s Federal Ministry of Economics is examining whether the part of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that lies on German soil can be expropriated. This is reported by the “mirror.”
According to this, the federal government is considering expropriating the part of the pipe system on German territory and cutting it off from the rest of the pipeline. The tubes, which lead from land to sea, could then be connected to a mobile LNG terminal, thereby partially compensating for the infrastructure that was previously lacking.
Because at the end of the pipeline, a complete distribution network with compressors and lines is already connected, which could transport the gas directly. The project is technically possible, reports the “Spiegel”. However, there could be “serious environmental problems.” The pipeline is located in a particularly protected area of the Baltic Sea. Current property rights also made expropriation difficult.
Above all, however, the ministry fears that an expropriation of the tubes in the Kremlin would trigger retaliatory measures. For example, by expropriating German companies in Russia.
Habeck’s ministry officials did not want to deny or confirm the plans to “Spiegel”. Additional locations for LNG terminals are currently being sought, “the question of the existing infrastructure for a connection is an important location factor,” the magazine quoted a spokesman as saying.
