Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline сertification will be suspended – German Chancellor

Certification of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline will be suspended.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gave such instructions to the country's Ministry of Economy.

This was reported by Der Spiegel.

It is stated that the Federal Government of Germany is drawing the necessary conclusions from the escalation in eastern Ukraine.

In a letter, on Tuesday morning, Minister Robert Habek instructed his accountable Federal Network Agency to revoke the initially positive certificate, which is crucial for the certification of the pipeline.

The certificate, issued by the previous government in late October, concerned the security of natural gas supplies to Germany, which at the time was not threatened by the commissioning of Nord Stream 2.

According to the letter, this is no longer the case due to the reassessment of the geostrategic situation and the escalation in eastern Ukraine.

"Approval is impossible without this certificate," the ministry said.

It is stated that Vice-Chancellor Habek has been preparing for this step for months with the expectation of placing Russian troops on the border with Ukraine. In principle, Habek never shared the views of the old government. Over the past few weeks, he has persuaded Chancellor Scholz and his SPD coalition partner.

In the coming weeks, the Federal Ministry of Economy intends to carefully study the impact of geopolitical events and the situation in eastern Ukraine on the security of supply.