Russian state-owned giant Gazprom is set to suspend gas flows through Nord Stream 1 for 10 days from July 11, citing technical reasons.
The mounting tensions between Russia and the EU have made German policymakers and stakeholders anxious over the prospect of what is usually an annual routine procedure.
Since Russia has significantly reduced gas flows through the pipeline in recent weeks, many politicians, including German Energy Minister Robert Habeck, view Gazprom’s decision as political.
Habeck said Russia is phasing out gas flows to different countries «step by step».
Against this backdrop, many expect the company to not restart flows through the pipeline at all after the 10-day shutdown.
The head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, said in a recent interview with Funke Mediengruppe:
- The question remains whether this regular maintenance turns into a longer-lasting political maintenance
Müller stressed:
- If gas flows from Russia are deliberately reduced for a longer period of time, we seriously need to talk about saving [gas]
Author: Julia Dahm
