Merkel’s Office Tells Nord Stream 2 Opponents Gov’t Isn’t Against Gas Line

In spite of severe criticism emanating from several Eastern European states and representatives of the Christian Democratic Union, the German government is reluctant to scrap the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is designed to deliver gas from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported.

According to a statement issued by the Office of the Chancellor, the decision to build the Nord Stream 2 gas line belongs to the German and Russian companies involved.

"We have not been promoting this project and at the same time we do not counteract it," Der Spiegel quoted German authorities as saying.

The magazine added that the European Commission should now check whether the construction of the pipeline is in line with European law. Critics argue that the Nord Stream 2 will increase dependence on Russian gas.

The Nord Stream 2 plans to use the original Nord Stream pipeline for 86 percent of the route before branching off. It will have a capacity to transport up to 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to be supplied to European customers. In September, Russian energy giant Gazprom started the project with a consortium of five large European energy companies, namely, BASF, EON, Engie, OMV and Shell.

A number of senior European officials, including Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, European Commission Energy Union Vice President Maros Sefcovic and European Council President Donald Tusk said that the implementation of the Nord Stream 2 project was likely to affect the bloc in one way or another.

Earlier this month, the Baltic states and Poland issued a joint letter to Brussels criticizing the construction of Nord Stream 2. In contrast, Germany's special coordinator for Russia policy Gernot Erler said that the development of the Nord Stream 2 project would contribute to ensuring energy security in Europe.