Federal Minister for economic Affairs, Peter Altmaier, has left to respond to threats of Sanctions by the us Ambassador Richard Grenell against German companies and a Failure of the merger of Siemens-Zugsparte with the French manufacturer Alstom, and warned Europe need in the international competition European Champions.
the North Stream 2 of the CDU, said politicians to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur: “Germany is a country in which freedom of expression and freedom of the press are guaranteed. Therefore, it is not necessary to comment on every single letter. But: the fact is that Germany is a constitutional state.“ The construction of Nord Stream 2 lead substantially to international waters, the necessary approvals from the national riparian States would be available for a long time.
The project was realized to a considerable extent already, said Altmaier. “The Federal government has an obligation, not arbitrary in such entrepreneurial projects.”
Grenell threatens with sanctions
Grenell had threatened the Pipeline of corporations involved in one on the weekend known letter, you will be exposed to a “significant risk of Sanctions”. The construction of the 1,200-Kilometer route under the Baltic sea has started in Germany. The United States have criticised the project on several occasions solid.
Altmaier also said that there is a legitimate interest in the Ukraine, that they stay even after the construction of Nord Stream 2 is an important Gas transit country. “That’s the reason why I travel in the Ukraine and Russia, the ground for direct talks between Russia, Ukraine and the EU-Commission is preparing.”
Germany has also an interest to avoid dependencies in any direction, the possibilities for diversification of Gas supplies would therefore driven forward, said Altmaier. Therefore, he proposed to create in Germany the possibility of an infrastructure for liquefied natural gas (LNG) – “to be able to transport with the goal of liquefied natural gas from either the United States or from the Middle East to Germany and fed into the grid”. “This Gas must of course be gas-to-gas competitive.”
European Champions
On the competitiveness Altmaier, also in relation to the merger of the Zugsparte of Siemens and the French group Alstom value: “I’m not allowed to interfere in ongoing proceedings. But if Europe wants to survive in international competition, it needs European Champions that are able to compete with suppliers from the United States or China and win.“
