The conditions were set.

In early December, the Financial Times reported, citing sources, that the administration of the new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz may stop Nord Stream 2 in a hypothetical military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, although it generally supports the project.

One of the reasons for this position is the pressure on the German government, and from several sides at once. Thus, the United States and Ukraine want to use Nord Stream-2 as a bargaining chip, promising Russia to impose tough and painful sanctions in case of an invasion of Ukraine, which the Kremlin is allegedly preparing.

Poland, in addition to stopping Nord Stream-2 completely, demanded reparation from Germany - for the damage caused during World War II. This statement was made by Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau at a meeting with the new German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock.

However, on Sunday, December 12, Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki will make another attempt to convince the German government of the harmful nature of the Russian gas pipeline. The two politicians will meet in Warsaw.

Not until spring.

In early December, a representative of the German Ministry of Economics, Nina-Mari Güttler, said that Nord Stream 2 would not be launched until its certification was complete in any case. The exact timeline for completing this process is unknown. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry this will not happen before the spring.

Currently the procedure is suspended as Nord Stream 2 AG, the operator of the project, is going to create a subsidiary company in Germany in order to transfer the assets and management of the gas pipeline in the country to it.

Meanwhile, Europe has already used up more than a quarter of the gas it has bought and pumped into its underground storage facilities. As of the first week of December, 25.6 percent, i.e. more than a quarter of the gas bought and pumped, had already been withdrawn from the European storage facilities. The cost of fuel is rising again in Europe, and the certification and commissioning of Nord Stream 2, which the West sees as a chance to cope with the energy shortage, is being delayed.