Notes on the dispute about Nord Stream 2
Proletarians of all countries, unite!
Notes on the dispute about Nord Stream 2
How the world situation occasionally concentrates and concretises itself in one point can just be seen in the regards to the inter-imperialist contradiction at the project “Nord Stream 2”. In the Basis of Party Unity of the Communsit Party of Peru it is established in the International Line: „The second world consists of the imperialist powers which are not superpowers, but have less economic, political, and military power such as … Germany … etc. which have contradictions with the superpowers because they sustain, for example, the devaluation of the dollar, military restrictions, and political impositions; these imperialist powers want to take advantage of the contention between the superpowers in order for them to emerge as new superpowers…“
A superpower, a power that wants to become a superpower, and a nuclear (super)power are struggling with each other in contention and collusion over the issue of gas exports from Russia to Germany. With the new (old) President Joe Biden, the issue came up again in the media. The Yankees reiterated that the Biden administration’s celebrated diplomatic cuddling (German media call it transatlantic “honeymoon”) will have no impact on core business.
In a questionable manner, the Yankees are interfering in the affairs of sovereign states. This is expressed, among other things, in the German “Handelsblatt”. It says: “The new U.S. administration considers completion possible” and it is “being considered in the U.S. government to allow completion of the pipeline after all, if certain conditions are met.”i These are pithy words in respect of the impossibility (in legal terms) of such interference in a duly approved and almost completed project.
There are “new sanction threats by the U.S. against all companies, banks and insurance companies involved in the construction of the pipeline through the Baltic Sea. According to a U.S. State Department report … 18 European companies have now terminated their participation in the project or announced their withdrawal.” “… under the sanctions already in effect, but also under the planned sanctions against affected individuals, entry bans to the United States [may] be imposed. Any property of affected persons or companies in the United States may be frozen. “ii Munich Re Syndicate Ltd. (subsidiary of the world’s largest reinsurer, Munich Re), the largest French insurer Axa, Zurich Insurance Group, Bilfinger, etc. etc. are out, according to information from the “Tagesschau”. However, at present there are Yankee sanctions only against the Russian company KVT-RUS (operator of one of the ships laying the pipeline).
Additionally U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price stated that the action against Nord Stream 2 “… should not have surprised Washington’s European partners, because the U.S. government acts in close coordination with its allies and partners on every issue or opportunity.”iii
German Minister of Finance and designated candidate for chancellor (with little chance of success) of the Social Democrats, Olaf Scholz, offered a deal to the Yankees as early as August 2020. The FRG will finance the construction of two special ports for the import of liquefied gas in Brunsbüttel and Wilhelmshaven. 1 billion euros is to flow for this.iv
So what is happening? The FRG is exacerbating the discord between Russia and the USA hoping that this might help them to make the leap to superpower status, which seems almost inconceivable without a major military conflict between the Yankees and Russia.
For one thing is clear, even if the official German authorities claim otherwisev, there is no German dependence on Russian gas. Rather, the exploitation of Russia’s wealth is a long-cherished dream (attempted in two World Wars) of German imperialism that is increasingly becoming a reality. There is no dependence on Russia, there will be none, the Russian state is dependent on the income from the pipeline. Because Russia is largely dependent on export of primary goods, economically it is closer to the third world, but the difference is that they remain a (military) superpower based on their heritage of nuclear weaponry.
That German imperialism is not dependent on Russian gas is proven, among other things, by a 2018 study by the “German Institute for Economic Research” (Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung), which states that the current pipeline project is “not necessary to secure natural gas supplies in Germany and Europe”vi. The “Deutschlandfunk” recently stated under the question “How dependent is Germany on Russian natural gas?”: “Gas production within the EU is declining sharply. Fossil, climate-damaging fuels such as natural gas are … energy sources with an expiration date. … Germany [will] continue to rely on Russian natural gas for some time, as a bridging technology …”vii
The Germans are stoking the fire, the “Tagesschau”: “Russia against the USA” and “Cold War is back”. This is the crux of the matter. That is why some Yankee circles speak of “catastrophic consequences for American national security and for the energy security of our European allies”viii. The “Spiegel”, for example, calls the dispute over a private enterprise “one of the most difficult current challenges for German foreign policy” and sees “an interesting approach to strategic and constructive East-West negotiation”ix.
This proves once more the correctness and great far-sightedness of Chairman Gonzalo and the CPP: „The second world consists of the imperialist powers which are not superpowers, but have less economic, political, and military power such as … Germany … etc. which have contradictions with the superpowers because they sustain, for example, the devaluation of the dollar, military restrictions, and political impositions; these imperialist powers want to take advantage of the contention between the superpowers in order for them to emerge as new superpowers…“
ihttps://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/gasversorgung-nord-stream-2-ag-sieht-neue-bedingungen-fuer-den-pipeline-weiterbau-kritisch/26959060.html
iihttps://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/nordstream-zwei-eine-investitionsruine-101.html
iiiibid
ivVgl. https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2020-09/gaspipeline-nord-stream-2-robert-habeck-olaf-scholz
vVgl. https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/nordstream-zwei-eine-investitionsruine-101.html
viVgl. https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/nordstream-zwei-streit-101.html
viihttps://www.deutschlandfunk.de/nord-stream-2-wie-abhaengig-ist-deutschland-von-russischem.2897.de.html?dram:article_id=483727
viiihttps://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/nord-stream-2-usa-russland-sanktionen-1.5214725
ixhttps://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/streit-ueber-nord-stream-2-der-schwarze-peter-muss-nach-moskau-gastbeitrag-a-a5dd9f80-49c9-4145-b8f3-eae61caa09a5
