Nord Stream Pipeline Investigation Stalled, Deepening European Divisions
BRUSSELS – โขInvestigations into the 2022 explosions that crippled the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines โฃremain stalled, fueling ongoingโ tensions within โEuropeโ and raising questions about energy security asโข the war in ukraine continues. The incidents, which severed critical infrastructure โขsupplying Russian โgas to Europe, have become a source of friction, withโฃ differing theories about responsibility and a lack of conclusiveโ findings exacerbating โคexisting geopolitical anxieties.
The ambiguity surrounding the attacks comes at โคa โคcritical juncture,as European nations strive to maintain a โunited front against russia and navigate โan increasingly uncertain โrelationship with the United States. While Russia‘s documented history of โattemptingโ to destabilize foreign nationsโฃ is well-known, the Nord Stream โincident may have inadvertently โachieved a key Kremlin objective – sowing division – without direct involvement.Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis warned the pipeline damage risks provoking “further questions โand perhaps fractures withinโ the alliance,” notably “at a โฃtime โwhen we โฃare no longer at peace.”
Despite โa German lawsuit โseeking a satisfactory courtโค ruling on the Nord Streamโฃ incident, โRussian โฃgas โฃis not expected to flow to Europe viaโ these pipelines at pre-2022 levels. The loss of Nord Stream accelerated Europe’s efforts to โreduce its decades-long relianceโฃ on Russian gas, a process initiated following โขRussia’s full-scale โขinvasion of Ukraine. EU data shows russia’s share of EU pipeline gas imports plummeted from over 40% in โฃ2021 to approximately 11%โ in 2024.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna articulated โa โขstrong stanceโ on the defunct โฃpipelines in March,โข stating, “the โright place for Nord Stream 2โ is โคthe โbottom of the sea, broken intoโค pieces.”