German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung commented that supporting the Nord Stream 2 project was one of the biggest mistakes in Germany's foreign policy and called for the establishment of an investigation committee. Similar demands are also being made by the opposition.
Have Angela Merkel, when she was a federal government leader, ignored warnings that Germany was unilaterally dependent on energy from Russia? What is Merkel's specific role in building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline? The Green Party and the left-wing Party are calling on the ruling parties CDU, CSU and SPD to approve a comprehensive investigation into these issues in the National Assembly," Spiegel wrote on May 19.
Green Party MP Irene Mihalic stressed that the role of Angela Merkel and her government in the Nord Stream 2 project needs to be fully clarified. The leader of the leftist Jan van Aken also said that Germany's dependence on Russian gas is an issue that needs to be urgently clarified in the National Assembly. He supported the establishment of an investigation committee and hoped to receive support from lawmakers in the SPD and CDU.
However, the Green Party and the left Party did not have enough votes to unilaterally establish an investigation committee. Both parties also resolutely rule out the possibility of cooperation with the right-wing pro-Germany Party for the Choice of decline ( AfidD) over Nord Stream and other issues, Spiegel noted.
The calls for an investigation into Nord Stream 2 stem from an investigation by Sueddeutsche Zeitung revealing that the Prime Minister's Office had been warned about Germany's serious dependence on Russian gas but had not taken action.
Documents show that in September 2015, Angela Merkel approved the sale of German gas storage facilities to Russia's Gazprom, despite internal warnings.
"Merkel has made 3 mistakes and the fact that she still denies that it is the fourth mistake. In any case, supporting Nord Stream 2 is not only a mistake of the Russian SPD, but also a big mistake in Merkel's foreign policy - the person who has led the CDU and the German Prime Minister for many years, and is also one of the most serious diplomatic failures of the German republic." Sueddeutsche Zeitung emphasized.
The newspaper pointed out that Merkel's first mistake was to believe that favorable deals would make Russia more dovish. The second mistake is to ignore warnings from Eastern European neighbors about the risk of increasing dependence on Russian gas. The third mistake was the determination of Merkel and her advisers to show a neutral stance on Nord Stream 2.
The EU has recently revealed that it will impose an 18th package of sanctions on Russia, including the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 sanctions. German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius affirmed that Berlin supports EU sanctions against Nord Stream and the US support for the proposed package of sanctions is very important.
