The gas directive of the EU will remain one of the landmark events in the energy market until the end of the year. It's aimed against Nord Streams 1 and 2. As we know, they are both laid along the bottom of the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. They already adopted it. The translation into national languages and ratification in the national parliaments are ahead. So, it'll be 9 months of a transition period. Starting next year, only companies which don't depend on each other should develop and export gas. The same is true for access to the pipeline. A gas supplier can count on half of its capacity only. These conditions go against the way Nord Stream 2 is supposed to be used now. Swiss Nord Stream 2 is a pipeline operator fully owned by Gazprom.
The directive wasn't discussed much and was quickly adopted mainly because the elections are at the end of May and they're in a hurry, and not just the Europeans. Washington put pressure on Brussels the entire time. The Americans want to supply its LNG to the Old World. And now they have a competitor from Russia that will supply up to 2 trillion cubic feet of gas along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. For you to understand, it's a third of what Western Europe needs and almost 100% of what Germany needs. Let me remind you that Berlin was first to permit the laying of the pipes. Next year, it'll become the largest hub for supplies to Europe.
Stefan Koiter, member of the Bundestag from the AfD party: “The Americans want to sell their LNG gas developed by hydraulic fracturing. They're interested in the European market first and foremost, especially the German market. Meanwhile, Russia wants to make money by selling gas in Europe. Germany wants to have uninterrupted electric power and gas supplies. We should take all of it into consideration. Personally, I'd like to play this game without the Americans because our countries have a long history of cooperation.”
The positions of the European states have long been known. 12 countries, including Great Britain and Poland, were against the pipeline and in favor of the amendments to the third package. The Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, and Cyprus explicitly supported the pipeline project, which goes along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Vienna even extended its contract with Moscow to supply gas until 2040. So, in this case, it was an economic matter, and for some countries, it was a political matter.
Andrejs Mamikins, MEP from Latvia: "Manfred Weber, the Chairman of the Christian Democrats or the European People's Party met with Foreign Minister Lavrov at the Munich Security Conference. According to the witnesses who took part in that meeting, the press which shot a part of it, as is the standard procedure, representatives of the European Parliament hadn't made so many compliments to Russia for a long time. Our Russian colleagues said that they didn't think that he had such a positive attitude toward Russia. Three days later, the same Weber gave an interview with a Polish newspaper. It was full of nationalist sentiments. It wasn't pro-European but very anti-Russian. He said the opposite things about Russia".
Nord Stream 2, in essence, is an alternative to transit via Ukraine. 90% of Russian exports went via its pipelines in the early 90s. In 1999, there was a new pipeline — the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline going to Poland via Belarus. In 2003, there was the Blue Stream to Turkey. In 2011, they began to transport gas via Nord Stream. As a result, the share going through Ukraine shrunk to 50%. Starting from 2020, it's expected to shrink to 35%.
Aymeric Chauprade, MEP from France: "The US and some of its reliable allies, such as Poland, have a desire to sabotage the Nord Stream 2 project. It'll allow for the direct provision of fuel supplies to Germany and thus, do without Ukraine, which traditionally carried out gas transit. Obviously, the US wants to block the exports to Europe. Europe indeed tries to diversify its suppliers. But Russia is a good and reliable energy partner. In addition to that, Russia and the EU naturally compliment each other".
Interestingly, Germany ultimately managed to achieve a compromise. The recipient will decide if the amendments are applicable to the pipeline. So, Berlin, which will receive Russian gas in its territory, has the final say.
