Russian Envoy: Extension of Certification Period for Nord Stream 2 'Political'

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The decision to extend the certification period for Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is political as there is no logical reason for it, Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's permanent representative to the EU, said on Thursday.

The German energy regulator announced earlier in the day that the decision on Nord Stream 2 certification will not be made in the first half of 2022. The agency's head, Jochen Homann, said the process has been postponed because the project's operator failed to provide all necessary documents.

"Of course, it's politics. Apart from politics there is nothing else. But, there is a mixture of Western and internal German foreign policy related to the change of the government in the country. It is clear that the regulator has taken a wait-and-see attitude ahead of this change," Chizhov told the Rossiya 24 broadcaster.

Now that power in Germany is in the hands of the co-called traffic light coalition of the the social-democratic SPD, the Greens and the liberal FDP, known for their opposition to the project, its future is even more uncertain, the envoy added.

Nord Stream 2 is a joint venture of Gazprom, Royal Dutch Shell, OMV, Engie, Uniper, and Wintershall. The project is designed to carry natural gas from Russia to Germany beneath the Baltic Sea. On September 10, Russia's Gazprom announced that the construction of the pipeline had been completed.

The process of certifying Nord Stream 2 AG as the pipeline’s independent operator is currently underway to ensure the project complies with the conditions of the February 12, 2019 EU Gas Directive. The German regulators initially expected to make the decision in January 2022.