Reuters: Germany is discussing a ban on the sale of Nord Stream 2 at the legislative level
Germany is considering amending its foreign trade legislation to prevent a possible sale of the company operating the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. This was reported by Reuters, citing a relevant document.
The Swiss company Nord Stream 2, which operates the pipeline, is undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, which could lead to the sale of assets.
The country's Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, previously stated that he would not allow the launch of Nord Stream 2. However, the country currently lacks the legal means to prevent the sale of assets belonging to the Russian company Gazprom.
In response to an inquiry from the agency, the German Ministry of Economy stated that the government is discussing the possibility of making appropriate amendments to the foreign trade law during this legislative period.
Former State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy and Green Party MP Michael Kellner said that the government must close this loophole.
"Pipelines in Germany or Europe should not be in the hands of Russian or American companies," he said.
The Nord Stream system consists of two pipelines that run through the Baltic Sea to Germany and are capable of supplying 110 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
On February 22, 2022, then-German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, without which its operation is impossible, had been suspended.
- In early March 2025, Bild reported that secret negotiations had been underway for several weeks between representatives of Russia and the United States regarding the purchase of the damaged Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea by American investors.
- On June 5, it became known that American businessman Stephen Lynch traveled to Germany with the idea of buying out Nord Stream 2.
