Posts Tagged ‘Lithuania’

Germany and its Baltic allies have flatly rejected suggestions that delivery of Russian gas via the Nord Stream 2 pipeline may resume. Rumours that such a plan are afoot emerged on Sunday, when the Financial Times, a news outlet, reported that a former boss of Gazprom, the Russian firm that operated the pipeline, was working to revive the €11 billion project.

To its boosters, the pipeline running along the floor of the Baltic Sea was a sign that Russia was securely tethered to Europe and the west. Its detractors, both those who remained unconvinced that Moscow was indeed an ally, as well as greens agitating for lower, greener energy consumption, were never sold on the first Nord Stream, let alone its sequel.

But when both were damaged by sabotage in September 2022 (by whom remains unknown), European countries, and Germany in particular, rushed to break their energy ties to Russia: today, Norway is Germany’s primary gas supplier, and, on 8 February, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania broke a power connection to Russia that dates back to the Soviet Union when they connected themselves to the EU grid.

Nothing suggests anyone is interested going back. “Independence from Russian gas is of strategic importance,” the German economy ministry insisted in its denial that Berlin was talking to Moscow about re-opening Nord Stream 2. With Europeans now looking to secure their future, it would appear that the era of Russian gas has passed.