Economy Ministry State Secretary Vojtech Ferencz met with Peter Fischer from the German Federal Foreign Office on Thursday to discuss extending the capacity of the Nord Stream gas pipeline. Germany is trying to persuade central Europe in favour of the Nord Stream 2 however Slovakia has adopted a critical stance on the project.
Slovakia has already voiced its concerns back in March in a joint letter signed by prime ministers from nine countries. The completion of the Nord Stream 2 could change existing transit routes and bypass Ukraine, which would fly in the face of Slovakia's priorities in terms of ensuring energy security. Economy Ministry state secretary Vojtech Ferencz stressed that Slovakia's stance is not subject to any change. Germany views the extension of Nord Stream 2 as a commercial rather than Government project and has adopted a neutral position on it. "The German side certainly doesn't want to undermine the interests of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe", claimed Peter Fischer.
The preliminary agreement between Russian giant Gazprom and Western European energy firms would involve doubling the transport capacity of Nord Stream. According to the Pravda daily, Slovakia would lose €700 million per year for the transit fees. The Russians plan to cease the transportation of gas through the territory of Ukraine by 2019. Nevertheless, they have signed a long term agreement on gas transport with Slovakia lasting beyond 2019, although this agreement should not be valid under extraordinary events such as the war in Ukraine.
According to Slovak gas transport company Eustream, the full bypass of the Ukrainian route will lead to the gradual and inevitable decline of the Ukrainian system. The company warns that almost the entire volume of Russian gas would be supplied to Europe via a single point in Germany, together with the Yamal pipeline. According to the company, the gas infrastructure in Europe is not prepared for such transport in terms of capacity. This poses a risk of some countries not having enough gas. Moreover, a number of countries in south-eastern Europe, such as Romania, Bulgaria and Greece, are not connected to western gas networks. Once the Ukrainian route is disabled, it will be impossible to deliver gas to them via Nord Stream, concluded the company Eustream.
The first Nord Stream branch was introduced in November 2011 and the second one in 2012. The gas pipeline worth €7.4 billion goes from Russia to Germany along the bed of the Baltic Sea. The Russian company Gazprom together with his western European partners plan to extend the line by two more corridors numbered 3 and 4. They should secure an additional 55 billion cubic metres per year.
