“New Baltic Sea pipeline could face months-long delay”

The construction of the natural gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 from Russia to Germany – scheduled to start this year – could be put back by months or years. The delay could be caused by plans by the EU Commission to negotiate a separate regulatory framework with the Russian government, reports Hendrik Kafsack for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The Commission wants to determine if the offshore project has to adhere to EU energy market rules, which would ensure that other companies besides Gazprom get to use the pipeline, writes Kafsack. The German government and Gazprom had always argued that Nord Stream 2 was a purely business project, and did not need to be separately regulated by the EU.

For background read the CLEW dossier The Energiewende and its implications for international security.