German politicians “remarkably open” to Gazprom lobbying on Nord Stream 2

The controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, which would connect Russia with Germany via the Baltic Sea, is affected by intense lobbying, especially by former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, a personal friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Christian Schweppe and Adrian Arab write in Die Welt. Documents seen by the newspaper suggest that Germany’s government has been “extraordinarily open” towards companies interested in joining the “very lucrative” 1,200-kilometre natural gas pipeline project under the aegis of Russian company Gazprom, the authors say. Chancellor Angela Merkel met representatives of involved companies on at least three occasions, officially to discuss “energy and climate policy”, while the German foreign minister held at least 16 meetings dedicated to the project, including talks with Gazprom head Alexey Miller. “It is remarkable how open the doors of German politicians have been for that company in particular”, Arab and Schweppe write.

Find the article in German here (behind paywall).