According to the Danish Energy Agency, more than half of the gas has leaked from the affected pipes at Nord Stream I and Nord Stream II. The gas pipelines were damaged after suspected sabotage and may soon be forever unusable. According to government sources, the entry of large amounts of salt water could lead to corrosion of the pipelines if repairs are not carried out quickly. As a result, the gas pipelines running through the Baltic Sea will be “destroyed forever.”
This is an event that happened at a delicate time. “Once by chance, twice by coincidence, and three times by the enemy,” said Javier Blas, a well-known energy industry journalist, quoting Fleming. What happened before the leak? TTF natural gas futures in Europe fell for four days in a row. The exchange rate of the euro tended to be stable. Calls from the German to reopen Nord Stream II were growing louder. Italy’s far-right coalition led by Meloni wins election. The first thing that comes to mind is that the left-wing, green-dominated coalition that dominates the European mainstream is losing power.
A New Game of Thrones
When a disaster occurs, the person most suspected is the beneficiary. The damage of Nord Stream I and II would have two consequences. One is to prevent Russia and Europe from resuming gas supplies. Prior to the sabotage, Russia suspended Nord Stream I, mainly to force Germany to reopen Nord Stream II. Although German Chancellor Scholz has explicitly refused to do so, thousands of people demonstrated against the energy crisis and demanded the resumption of Nord Stream II in Leipzig and other major cities.We have to admit that under certain pressure, it is only a matter of time before Nord Stream II is reopened. Europe’s left-wing coalition, particularly the Greens, has been actively keen on the current austerity and inflation, and wants to exacerbate the crisis as a prelude to the necessary transformation of the energy sector. According to an alleged internal document from the German Greens, they hinted that they would utilize “fossil inflation, Europe’s dependence on Russia, the misguided policies of the previous government” to advance toward the narrative of “green inflation” (price increases due to targeted increases in fossil energy prices and investment in renewable energy) and resist the narrative of “fossil inflation” (price increases due to shocks to fossil energy supplies, such as strategic shortages, forced decoupling of Russian energy imports).
They want to block any ties, especially economic ties, with Russia, let alone direct gas supplies from Putin. Once Nord Stream II reopened, the already weakened Greens will suffer another serious defeat, and will the left-wing coalition in Europe.
Secondly, energy crisis speculators can continue to benefit from high energy prices. On February 7, less than three weeks before the start of the Ukraine war, US President Joe Biden had publicly stated that the US would “put an end to Nord Stream II” if Russia invaded Ukrainian territory. Asked by a journalist how he planned to do this, Biden assured calmly “I promise you that we will be able to do this.”
Even now, the US has shown no interest in moderating positions on the East-West front. In the midst of the energy crisis, the US has reaped handsome returns by exporting liquefied natural gas. The only winners in this war were not the soon-to-be-shivering Europe, not the devastated Ukraine, but the United States, which controlled everything behind the scenes. In this case, the U.S. Navy’s presence in the Baltic Sea has increased massively in recent days. The likely evidence of a US authorship of the attacks on the pipelines no longer doubted by anyone is by no means far-fetched.
Permanently destroying the Nord Stream pipelines is an opportunity for the Green Coalition in Europe to regain its dominance, and an opportunity for energy exporters such as the US to make money. Now they are happily planning their next move. Even if the leak of natural gas produces large amounts of greenhouse gases, contributing further to global warming. Not mention Europeans are about to face higher electricity bills.
Written by Tanja Braun exclusively for NAT – News about Turkey
Tanja Braun was born in 1990 in Brandenburg. She studied political science and a little economics in Berlin and Vienna. Now she works in Brandenburg. She also writes about political, economic and social issues in free time.
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