Press reviews
The dispute over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has been settled for the time being. But the agreement between Germany and the USA does not only have winners, comment the media. The press reviews.
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has been a burden on the relationship between Germany and the USA for years. Now both sides have reached an agreement in the dispute. At the center of this is support for Ukraine – where one is nevertheless anything but happy. The compromise has also met with criticism in Poland. In a joint statement from their foreign ministries, the two countries warned that the agreement had one “created political, military and energy threats to Ukraine and Central Europe”.
“The pipeline is causing geopolitical damage”, is about the “Southgerman newspaper” for sure. The “Stuttgart newspaper” sees one “short term” Relaxation in the transatlantic relationship. “In the long term, however, the hooks and eyes cannot be overlooked”says the paper. The press reviews.
Agreement in the dispute over Nord Stream 2 – the media coverage
“Southgerman newspaper”: “Proponents of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline have put a lot of effort into reducing the project again and again to this core and belittling it to a purely economic project. The fact that the governments of the USA and Germany had to reach a compromise at the highest level after difficult negotiations in order to defuse the massive conflict surrounding the tube proves the opposite. The pipeline is causing geopolitical damage. The German-American unification serves to limit it.”
“Stuttgart newspaper”: “In the short term, years of transatlantic tensions on this issue will be resolved. For the time being, Ukraine can also look forward to a renewed commitment that its geostrategic fears are widely taken seriously. In the long term, however, the hooks and eyes cannot be overlooked. Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has so far not bothered with agreements when it comes to Ukraine.”
“Taz”: “And? While Germany is struggling with floods and the forests are burning in Karelia and Yakutia, there seems to be nothing more important for politicians than to cease the major fossil fuel project. That is unfortunate. In terms of realpolitik, however, this compromise appears to be a step forward. At the last moment we managed to find an agreement between Russia, Germany, Ukraine and the USA in what appeared to be an unbridgeable conflict. Nobody was marginalized. This is important.”
“Nuremberg News”: “However, one concern of the Americans seems exaggerated: Putin’s potential for blackmail is limited against Germany, and his economic dependence on the gas business is greater. The Federal Republic, on the other hand, only wants to use gas as a bridging technology on the way to climate neutrality. A path that will still require a lot of creativity and a willingness to compromise.”
“world”: “Angela Merkel’s chancellorship comes to an end with a farewell present. Not for her, but from her: a gift for Vladimir Putin. The Russian President is the beneficiary of the compromise that Angela Merkel made with American President Joe Biden on the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline.”
“Cologne city indicator”: “Merkel and Biden have apparently agreed on a big deal so that nobody leaves the field as a loser in the dispute. A contract with Ukraine should guarantee further gas transit from Russia beyond 2024. There are also multi-million dollar investments in the Ukrainian energy infrastructure to make it more independent. And there is talk of an ’emergency stop switch’. Germany can always pull the rip cord. Only then would it no longer just be a pipeline, but a total embargo on Russian natural gas. That would be the beginning of an economic war. Now, it seems, for the time being, reason and Angela Merkel will prevail.”
“Daily mirror”: “This deal cannot be reassuring for Ukraine. The fact that the negotiators only traveled to Kiev retrospectively underscores the impression that negotiations were taking place over their heads. With Warsaw, which had long been betting on a victory for Donald Trump, there was just as little advance talk. This approach does not serve to promote cohesion in Europe.”
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