“Overall, the assessment comes to the conclusion that the granting of certification does not jeopardize the security of gas supply in Germany and the European Union,” according to a then-top secret report on the Nord Stream 2 link by the economy ministry.Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion delivered straight to your inbox at 7 a.m., Monday to Friday.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
Her successor Olaf Scholz, who was finance minister and vice chancellor in Merkel’s ruling coalition, initially returned to the government’s previous line and called NS2 a “purely economic” project. Only shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine did he change his position and ordered a stop to the certification process.Article content
Since the invasion, both Scholz and Merkel have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of using gas supplies to wage an energy war on Europe. Scholz said at an industry event Tuesday that he had always been sure that Putin would use his control over the fuel as a “weapon.” The document, which was first reported by Der Spiegel magazine, strikes a different tone. In it, the government came to the conclusion that “for both the German and neighboring markets, the risk of serious impairments to supply security due to the failure of individual import supply infrastructures is very limited.”
Merkel has also denied any responsibility for Germany’s current energy crisis. “You always act in the time in which you find yourself. In this respect, I do not regret decisions at all,” Merkel told an audience in Lisbon on Thursday in response to a question on her energy policy toward Russia. “Rather, I believe that it was right from the perspective of the time.”
Is that why they laughed at Trump when he told them the obvious?