The head of the German Social Democrats in favor of Nord Stream 2 | News from Germany about Germany

The co-chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) Norbert Walter-Borjans spoke in favor of the soonest commissioning of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. “Unfortunately, it is rare to select suppliers based on sympathy for a particular political system; in this regard, the same with oil,” – said the politician in an interview with Augsburger Allgemeinen, which will be published on Saturday, October 23rd.

According to Walter-Boryans, “independence is ensured not by breaking ties with others, but by establishing as many of them as possible with as many partners as possible.” He stressed that Germany supports the European sanctions regime against Russia and advocates the preservation of fundamental standards.

But in the case of the SP-2, it is not just about trade, but about “the infrastructure that will help our highly industrialized country to make the transition towards achieving climate neutrality,” the SPD co-chairman said.

Disagreement with the Greens and Liberals

Annalena Berbok

On this issue, Walter-Boryans clearly disagrees with the co-chair of the Soyuz 90 / Greens party, Annalena Baerbock, who on October 20 said that she opposes the issuance of a permit to operate the pipeline.

Meanwhile, on October 21 in Berlin, negotiations began on the creation of a coalition government with the participation of the SPD, the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), which also criticizes the gas pipeline project. One of the key issues that will be discussed by possible partners in the new ruling coalition will be the fate of Nord Stream 2.

The German national regulator, the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur), is expected to make a decision on the possibility of starting operation of the gas pipeline by January 8, 2022.

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Author: Andrey Gurkov