Because the european continent itself is not rich in natural resources, they rely on Russia for many years to supply natural gas. In the wake of the Crimean crisis in 2014, relations between Russia and Ukraine officially broke down and the gas pipelines that had been laid in Ukraine were no longer safe, and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline cooperation project, a natural gas pipeline that stretches from Russia's Baltic coastal territory through the Baltic Seabed to Germany, has stepped up. The economic ties between Russia and European countries are not very close in themselves, and few European countries are willing to disobey the Americans, and only an EU-led country like Germany dares to cooperate with Russia on this major issue, which can be seen as one of the greatest achievements of Merkel's administration.
(The United States is doing everything possible to block the landing of Nord Stream 2)
But now the plan is on the verge of bankruptcy, and the Western countries and Russia are completely torn apart by Russia's attack on Ukraine. The Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project is naturally also listed on the sanctions list, and it is inevitable that it will be hit devastated. According to the latest reuters report, the Swiss-based Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline company is considering filing for bankruptcy. Swiss Economy Minister Pamran has also revealed that the company has laid off more than 140 employees in the recent period alone, and the bankruptcy filing process will be executed as soon as this week, and it should be pointed out that Russia's state-owned gas giant, Gazprom, is the sole shareholder of the company.
(Schematic diagram of the Nord Stream system)
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was originally built to double the total transmission capacity of the Nord Stream system, from 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year to 110 billion cubic meters. Former U.S. President Donald Trump was furious at the Russian-German cooperation program and announced sanctions against nearly all the companies involved.
By November 2021, the German energy regulator announced the suspension of the certification process, but only wait for a subsidiary to take over the operation of the pipeline in Germany to resume certification, the estimate at the time is that if there is no external obstruction, the gas pipeline will be fully operational around June 2022, but since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Germany has again announced the suspension of the certification of Nord Stream II, and the matter has become far away. This was the most detrimental to German interests in itself, but the Germans could only do it for the sake of political correctness.
(Nord Stream 2 pipeline is being laid)
So how important is this pipeline for Europe? Europe proposed a strategy to diversify its energy supply a few years ago, but Europe's dependence on Russian gas has not changed in recent years. For example, in 2020, Russian gas supply to Europe accounted for 48%, even in the first quarter of 2021, when relations between Europe and Russia are already relatively tense, the EU's natural gas imports to Russia still rose by 18% year-on-year.
After the pipeline is completely cool, the next European countries will wait for a sharp increase in heating prices, and the United States has not so far stated that they will not continue to do natural gas business with Russia, and there is even news that the Americans will send more LNG ships to Russia to buy natural gas in the future, and then sell to Europe at 5 times the original price, taking advantage of the opportunity to make a lot of money. In this way, the purpose of the Americans to weaken Russia's strength has also been achieved, and the purpose of cutting the LEEKs in the EU has also been achieved, and the EU countries will no longer be able to enjoy the combustion efficiency and cheap natural gas.
(The biggest contributor to the Nord Stream II project is Germany and Russia)
It is also worth mentioning that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, if only from the economic point of view, the biggest loss is undoubtedly Russia, followed by the European Union, and finally Ukraine. Moreover, European capital will inevitably flow to a stable region, and the United States, which provoked the incident, has benefited the most from this conflict, which is also one of its purposes of fanning the flames.