Merz said he would not grant permission for the operation of Nord Stream 2
Germany's new Chancellor Friedrich Merz has spoken out against possible plans by the US and Russia to restart the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, he said in an interview with Zeit.online.
A Swiss court ruled that Nord Stream 2 would not be declared bankrupt. Against this backdrop, the publication's journalists asked Merz whether it was possible that a government under his leadership would grant permission to operate the gas pipeline.
"Currently, Nord Stream 2 does not have an operating license, and this will not change," Merz replied.
The Nord Stream pipelines are the largest potential route for Russian gas supplies to Europe. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline transported gas from 2011 to 2022.
The $11 billion Nord Stream 2 project was completed in 2021, but never launched because Germany halted the plan on the eve of Russia's war in Ukraine.
The Swiss company that operates Nord Stream 2, owned by Russia's Gazprom, was able to avoid the complete liquidation of the gas pipeline last week after a court approved a settlement with creditors.
- In early March 2025, the Bild newspaper reported that secret negotiations have been ongoing for several weeks between representatives of Russia and the United States regarding the purchase by American investors of the damaged Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea.
- The German government is considering measures to prevent the possible resumption of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
- On March 17, German Vice Chancellor Robert Gabeke said that negotiations between the US and Russia on the launch of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be "absolutely the wrong direction."
- On March 25, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia is negotiating with the United States on the resumption of Nord Stream.