Why German journalists snort over the Biden-Merkel agreement on Nord Stream 2
The big German press is not tender with the Merkel government after the Nord Stream 2 agreement with the United States. Here because. Pierluigi Mennitti's article from Berl ino
For the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , "Germany has paid for its freedom". The big German press with its own government is not happy in the aftermath of the agreement with Washington for the green light to Nord Stream 2, the doubling of the gas pipeline under the Baltic between Russia and Germany. After years of conflict and pressure, Joe Biden and Angela Merkel found a compromise at the first (and probably the last) meeting. Yesterday some points were disclosed, which in fact had already leaked in the previous weeks, such as the establishment of a financial fund to support Ukraine's green transition and the introduction of a mechanism that forces Berlin to vote sanctions against Moscow, in case Russia exploits the pipeline to blackmail Kiev.
THE BEIJING KNOT
Many observers argue that Merkel will have to make other concessions to the US in terms of relations with China. But from the autumn the ball will pass to a new government and the chancellor will no longer manage German politics.
For the moment Merkel collects the American yes to a plan that is not hers, an appendix to the great agreement between Schröder and Putin: for Berlin a pure economic project, for Washington an element that strengthens Europe and Germany's energy dependence on Moscow, for Kiev the antechamber of the loss of duties for the transit of Russian gas on its territory, for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe a club in the hands of Putin for interference in this part of the continent. Meanwhile, Putin congratulates the chancellor and the Russian ships are ready to lay the last kilometers of pipes on the seabed.
THE GERMAN PRESS DOES NOT CELEBRATE
But if satisfied declarations and sighs of relief arrive from the governmental political world, the German press largely does not celebrate. "The proponents of the pipeline made a great effort to downplay the project in a purely economic dimension", writes the Süddeutsche Zeitung , "but the fact that the governments of the United States and Germany had to reach a compromise at the highest levels, after difficult negotiations, to defuse the huge conflict surrounding the Nord Stream 2 proves exactly the opposite ”.
Die Welt is even harder: "Angela Merkel's chancellors close with a gift, not for her but for Vladimir Putin: he is the greatest profiteer of the agreement with Biden". For the flagship of the conservative Springer group, the chancellor “exploited the state of necessity of the American president, who needs Germany for an alliance against China, the new global authoritarian power”. But "it is surprising how Biden has abandoned the opposition to the pipeline without obtaining anything obvious in return: Merkel has not promised a greater commitment to NATO or greater clarity towards China".
For Welt , that "between Biden and Merkel is not a compromise at all, but a submission by the Americans". A circumstance that obviously does not tickle the patriotism of the Berlin newspaper.
"Despite the agreement with the US, for many it does not change the judgment that this project is an example of German neo-mercantilism", adds the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , "or worse than its unilateralism which has no regard for the objections and concerns of his closest allies ". For the Frankfurt daily, "despite all the stakes supporting the agreement between Germany and the US, Nord Stream 2 remains a geopolitical tool in the Kremlin's repertoire, which finances its political action at home and abroad and consolidates energy dependence German".
KIEV AND WARSAW: THREAT TO CENTRAL EUROPE
A phase of uncertainty is opening up for Ukraine, not at all attenuated by the promises of funds for green energy that should mitigate dependence on Moscow – energy, economic and political. If Poland fears the greater geopolitical weight of Moscow in the Eastern European region, for Ukraine it is a real financial survival, since the tariffs on the transit of Russian gas cover a large part of the state budget. The joint reaction of the two countries signals the alarm that we live beyond the Oder-Neisse. In a joint statement, the two foreign ministers of Warsaw and Kiev do not hide the disappointment for the American choice that "creates a political, military and energy threat for Ukraine and the whole of Central Europe" and "increases the potential for destabilization of European security by Moscow ”.
The green light for the pipeline is not balanced by any guarantee, add the two ministers, "and the proposals announced so far to fill the security deficit are not sufficient to effectively mitigate the danger represented by Nord Stream 2".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/nord-stream-2-germania-usa/ on Thu, 22 Jul 2021 09:20:08 +0000.