While construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany is progressing in the Baltic Sea despite international opposition, new obstacles are appearing onshore.
The pipeline can only work if the gas is distributed inside Germany and other Central European countries because the capacities of the existing network of pipelines on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast are limited, but a shifting political landscape in Germany, particularly a swelling environmental movement, pose challenges may derail the completion of the project.
The existing Nord Stream 1 has been connected since 2011 to a distribution pipeline called OPAL, which runs 480 kilometers from northeast Germany towards the Czech Republic. According to developers, a new pipeline should follow the same route and is already under construction. Three billion euros will be invested.
The project is controlled by the gas distributor Gascade, which according to its website controls 50.5% of the project. The rest of the shares are split among Dutch, Belgian and German companies. Similar to Nord Stream 2, Gascade’s shareholders are Russian and European companies, namely Gazprom and BASF.
What is EUGAL?
Since the beginning of preparations for the European Gas Pipeline Link (EUGAL), new opposition has appeared – environmentalists are rallying, and a local lawmaker has filed a complaint with the state prosecutor for pollution of a river and with the administrative high court for its decision to green light the pipeline. Last but not least, the political map of eastern Germany, where EUGAL is going to be built, is changing.
The biggest influence on the discussion is the rise of the environmental movement in Germany. Fridays for Future protests have emerged throughout the country with hundreds of thousands of participants demanding greater action against climate change, specifically calling on Germany to stop using coal earlier than intended by the government.
But as the discussion develops, other fossil fuels are also a focus, and on Monday environmentalists in Berlin protested against the construction of EUGAL. They call themselves “Gastivists“ and oppose Berlin’s plan to replace 60% of coal consumption with natural gas. “Any new pipeline is not necessary and contradictory to the intention of reducing green house gasses to zero,“ Gastivist spokesperson Katja George told the Kyiv Post.
In September, Gastivists also rallied against the construction of EUGAL. They followed the route of EUGAL and tried to establish partnerships with locals and landowners.
Gastivists claim that the impact of natural gas on global warming is underestimated. “Although natural gas releases less green house gas in the process of energy production, during the extraction and the transport of natural gas methane is released as well“, Gastivists in Berlin explained in a press release. The impact of methane on global warming is 72 times higher than the impact of carbon dioxide.
Meanwhile, Nord Stream 2 could face legal difficulties as well. Since construction started in Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Brandenburg in spring 2019, it already effected the environment. In a 20 Kilometer stretch of the river Schwarze Elster in southern Brandenburg, large numbers of fish have died, and local environmentalists blame the pipeline company.
They claim the company pumped groundwater that lacks oxygen into the river. Dieter Dombrowski, a regional lawmaker with the Christian Democratic Union party, told the Kyiv Post that he filed a complaint to the state prosecutor of Brandenburg for the pollution of the river.
But even if the prosecutor agrees, it would not stop the construction. EUGAL has all the necessary permits, but stricter regulations could increase costs.
Another legal argument could be more serious. Since EUGAL is not the owner of the land that it uses to build the pipeline, it needs approval from landowners, which the company typically obtains by paying compensation.
But not all landowners agree. Malte Heynen, a journalist and filmmaker who owns a 38 meter strip of land near the small town of Oderberg along the route of the pipeline, has already made a documentary about his dispute with the pipeline company.
Heynen didn’t accept the company’s money, but according to German law, landowners can be dispossessed to make way for big infrastructure projects, which EUGAL is implementing in force.
But Heynen hasn’t given up and has filed a lawsuit, using a crowdfunding campaign to cover the costs. According to German law he cannot sue against dispossession as long as the project is legal, so his lawsuit deals with the project in general.
Heynen claims that the impact of methane was not examined by the German administration when it approved the project. He also claims that dispossessions are only justified in public interest, and “Gobal warming cannot be in public interest,“ he concludes.
The lawsuit is not going to be quick. Heynen pressed for an accelerated procedure but was denied in July 2019. The regular procedure can drag on for much longer, and Hayden does not expect his case to start this year.
Heynen still thinks his chances are good. The decision of a court in an accelerated procedure does not necessarily influence the decision in regular procedure – In the former a lot of arguments weren’t examined by the court, and there was no public hearing. The decision was only based on paperwork in a limited amount of time.
While Heynen is waiting for his court hearing, the political balance of power in Eastern Germany has changed.
In the past, Brandenburg was ruled by a coalition of Social Democrats and the Left Party that emerged from the Communists. The former was friendly towards the energy industry, and the latter contained Russia-friendly groups. The process of permission went through without delay.
In neighboring Saxony, the Christian Democrats ruled in coalition with the Social Democrats. Though contrary to the Christian Democrats on the federal level, the party in Saxony expressed Russia-friendly sentiments, and Saxony’s prime minister Michael Kretschmer called for lifting sanctions against Russia in spring 2019.
Both regions elected new parliaments in September. Since the rise of the right wing Party Alternative for Germany, which is clearly pro-Russian, it is much more difficult to find a majority for a ruling coalition in the regional parliaments. In both regions, negotiations are underway to form a government based on coalitions including Christian Democrats, Social Democrats and the Green Party. The latter is not only pressing for reductions in green houses gases but also has a significantly more critical approach towards the Kremlin.
In the meantime, opposition against Nord Stream 2 has not decreased. The designated Vice President of the European Commission, Margrethe Vestager, recently expressed opposition to the project. ”Building another pipeline next to Nord Stream 1 makes no sense,“ said the future EU Commissioner for Competition according to the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit. Nordstream is “not a European project.”
In July, the foreign committee in the U.S.-Senate voted for a law that would enforce sanctions against companies involved in constructing and running Nord Stream 2. The sanctions must be passed by both houses of the U.S. Parliament and signed by Trump before it goes into effect.
Despite opposition in Europe and across the Atlantic, the German government has not changed its position towards Nordstream2.
The newly appointed Minister of Defense, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who is also chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Party in Germany, declined calls to stop during a recent visit in Latvia. She claimed that the pipeline is important for Germany’s energy supply and that Russia has always been a reliable partner when it comes to gas exports and added that the German government is negotiating with Russia about guarantees for Eastern European countries.
