In an article entitled "Our most embarrassing foreign policy issue is called Nord Stream 2," Der Spiegel reporter Mathieu von Rohr argues the project should be abandoned, even if such a decision is costly.
He asks whether "Germany should jeopardize its prestige" on the international arena and strain relations with newly sworn-in US President Joe Biden.
Von Rohr also argues that the project might be inconsistent with Berlin's climate goals, and asks "why Germany would support a pipeline that would benefit the Russian regime."
According to the journalist, the gas link project is not merely dubious in economic terms but also politically troublesome.
He argues that Germany has been hypocritical in claiming that Nord Stream 2 is a purely business project, as "pipelines are always political."
Von Rohr argues that Nord Stream 2 undermines EU efforts to put more pressure on Moscow over its involvement in eastern Ukraine and its treatment of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel should withdraw her support for the project, despite the fact that the country could see compensation claims, writes von Rohr.
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, being built from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, has been strongly criticised by both Warsaw and Washington amid concerns that the pipeline will make the European Union more dependent on Russian gas.
The European Parliament on January 21 passed a resolution demanding that the construction of the pipeline be halted. The project is already facing sanctions from the United States.
(ał)
Source: PAP, Der Spiegel