Transcript of NewsX panel, Nord Stream 2

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NewsX: 0:00
Former East German Stasi officer Matthias Warnig is pushing to restart the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, reaching out to US investors in a move once thought impossible. This signals a potential shift in US foreign policy towards Russia amid ongoing back-channel efforts. US-led investor Consortium is reportedly working on a post-sanctions plan with Gazprom, but the deal faces major obstacles including lifting sanctions, resuming gas sales and securing Germany’s approval. The Trump administration is said to be considering the pipeline as a strategic asset in Pete’s talks with Russia but Europe’s response and US policy shifts remain crucial challenges. The Nord Stream 2 deal continues to shape global power dynamics driven by geopolitics and energy interests.

0:54
For more on this we are joined by Gilbert Doctorow, Russian affairs expert located in Brussels. We’re also joined by Keith Vaz, chairman of the Integration Foundation located in London. And we’re also joined by Bernd Posselt, member of the party presidency of the CSU located in Bavaria. Thank you all for joining us. Keith Vaz, I wanted to come to you first on this discussion.

Why is this such an important issue, and how might restarting the Nord Stream impact the geopolitical balance in Europe, particularly regarding Russia’s leverage over the EU energy security?

Vaz: 1:44
Good afternoon, Thomas. It’s a very interesting story that is now circulating, that after all that’s happened as far as Ukraine is concerned, that there is the possibility of American investment in Nord Stream 2, with the possibility that it will open up again and therefore provide support for the energy needs of European countries. Three steps have to be achieved in order to make sure that this happens.

First of all, of course, you have to have the support of the Trump administration because there are still sanctions in place against Russia.

2:24
Secondly, you need the support of the European countries as a whole. And as we saw yesterday in London, there was a desire for the EU plus Britain and Canada to go together on the political settlement in Ukraine. They will probably need to have a say in what’s going on here.

And finally, we’ve got a new government in Germany, and therefore the new Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, would have to give his approval and the government of Germany would have to give its approval. So there are three big steps before anything happens, but the fact that people are talking about it I think is highly relevant. And the basis is: if there is investment from the United States of America then it’s more likely that the deal will go through, it will open up and everything will start flowing again.

NewsX: 3:19
Bernd Posselt, I wanted to come to you on this next one. What are the implications of Germany or other European nations engaging in discussions about Nord Stream, given the current sanctions on Russia and the ongoing war in Ukraine?

Posselt:
Yeah First of all, I would like to tell you that I was a member of the European Parliament for 20 years and now I’m a member of the presidency of my party in Munich, as responsible for Central and Eastern Europe, so for Ukraine. And concerning Nord Stream, I would like to tell you that I voted in the European Parliament against Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, because I’m thinking that it is very dangerous for Europe, for the European Union. We shouldn’t speak only about European states.

4:20
We are the European Union and we must [have] integration stronger. And as European Union, we must be more independent [of] energy from outside. And so we need diversification and not more dependence, and I’m absolutely against this restoration of Nord Stream 2. And I think Merz who is from our sister party. I know him very well since decades; I think he will be also against this idea.

NewsX: 4:55
Gilbert Doctorow, can I get your point of view on this matter? And how could this development affect NATO’s stance and the broader Western coalition strategy against Russia?

Posselt:
We have on Thursday the summit of the European–

NewsX:
My apologies, that question was for Gilbert Doctorow. Apologies.

Posselt:
Sorry.

NewsX:
Gilbert, if you could also unmute yourself, I believe that’s the case.

Doctorow: 5:27
Right. This discussion is entirely premature. The looking at what happened over the weekend, the meeting of 19 European leaders under the direction of Keir Starmer, trying to find a plan for a ceasefire, trying to agree something with Zelensky that they could present on his behalf to Trump, because they understand that Zelensky himself cannot present anything without insulting everybody in the room. The point is that this will proceed only after all, and I say all, the people who are in the room in London are gone from the stage, because everything that they discussed in London was totally irrelevant and is not taking into account the realities of this world, meaning what the Russians are saying and what the United States are saying. This peace that they have offered is contingent upon American security guarantees, which Donald Trump very loudly said will not be presented.

6:40
This peace with strength, with European boots on the ground, the French and the British and anybody else who joins the “coalition of the willing” to enforce this and ensure that Russia does not attack Ukraine again — they will be blown to bits by the Russians.

NewsX:
Okay.

Doctorow:
Mr. Putin and Mr. Lavrov said very explicitly, no foreign troops in Ukraine.

NewsX: 7:11
Keith Vaz, I wanted to come to you on this next question. Do you think it’s ethical for Germany and other European nations to consider reopening the Nord Stream while Ukraine continues to suffer from constant Russian aggression?

Vaz:
I think Gilbert is right. It is premature to discuss these issues, because it is only newspaper reports in the “Financial Times” and other newspapers. I said there are steps that need to be taken before it could even happen. He then went on to make it a wider discussion. And I have to correct him to this extent, not correct him, take a different view to him, which is that President Trump has been saying for years in his first term and now in the second term, Europe needs to stand up for itself. And now Europe is standing up for itself. And Gilbert is poo pooing it and saying, oh, it’s never, you know, there’s no point in these people doing it because they’re all going to be blown to bits.

8:11
But actually, it is important that the European Union plus Great Britain should be working together to guarantee its own security and the security of Ukraine. That’s what President Trump has been talking about. First of all, they’ve got to increase defense expenditure. Britain has pledged to do this up to 3%. The others have got to do it as well.

And secondly, they’ve got to act in unison. So I would urge people to watch this space. There needed to be something happening after what happened in the Oval Office. And this is perhaps the face-saving measure for all, where we can actually get to some kind of conclusion. But that goes beyond the remit of this program.

But since Gilbert mentioned it, I thought I would put my 5p into that discussion. Nothing can happen on Nord Stream 2 unless the Americans agree and the Europeans agree, in particular Germany. I know our Bavarian friend, Bernd, is there with lots of political experience. It’ll now be up to the new Chancellor to decide whether or not they want to help sort out Europe’s energy issues, because actually they need this energy from Russia. There is no other source that is so close.

9:30
Unless we discover kind of oil under Bavaria, we’re going to have to rely on other countries in order to import this. So it’s going to take time, but I think we need to make sure that people are positive about trying to get first of all peace in Ukraine and then the other bits of the jigsaw that Gilbert talked about. If we can achieve those that would be terrific.

NewsX:
Bernd Posselt, I want to finally come to you. How has the loss of Russian gas through the Nord Stream affected European energy markets? If you can just get an overview of that, and maybe possibly how could its reopening alleviate the energy price volatility?

Posselt:
I think we need reactivation of the atomic energy. I think we must use the national resources with the modern science. I think we must need for some years the LNG terminals, LNG gas and other sources, also Arab sources, but the aim must be that Europe must become, and the European Union must become independent from Russian gas. We should never go back to this dependence [on] Russian gas, which was a disaster for us.

And we must build up a European energy union, a European defense union. This we should have done since a long time. I was always in favor of it. I fought for it for decades. But now the time came where we must do it.

11:24
So I can also accept only the idea of an alliance of willings or coalition of willings, this is a good first step. But at least we must have a real European defense union with a real European army, because this is what we need in the 21st century. If you have a car which doesn’t function, you must repair it, but then you must think about a new car at the same time. And that’s what we have to do as European Union.