PREFACE/ISSUE
Exploring role of Switzerland as a country where Nordstream AG and Nordstream 2 AG are incorporated.
Since opening in 2011, the Nord Stream 1 pipeline has been a sort of umbilical cord connecting Europe to much of the energy it needs to keep its heat and lights on.
By 2020, Russia was supplying nearly a fifth of the natural gas imports in France, for example, about two-thirds in Germany, and 100% in the Czech Republic.
Nord Stream 2 has not been put into operation due to sanctions and agreement between Germany and USA - here yet it was dormant, like a "Sleeping beauty" as Russians said.
I. The original administrative obstacles are stopping NS2 to go online but future is uncertain
6 Oct 2021 - Gazprom's Nord Stream 2 can challenge EU rules, EU court adviser says
Gazprom's Swiss unit can challenge an EU gas rule that requires gas producers to be separate companies from those that control the pipeline, an adviser to the EU's top court said on Wednesday.
II. The US deal with Angela Merkel & Scholz
18 Jan 2022 - Scholz: Germany will discuss Nord Stream 2 penalties if Russia attacks UkraineBERLIN — Germany's new government on Tuesday gave the clearest indication yet that it would discuss halting the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if Russia attacks Ukraine.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz offered his strongest warning to date at a press conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, where he was pressed about whether penalizing Nord Stream 2 was part of the "severe economic costs" Germany has said Russia will face if it invades Ukraine.
"It is clear that there will be a high cost and that all this will have to be discussed if there is a military intervention against Ukraine," Scholz said.
Scholz said his government "stands by all aspects" of a deal his predecessor Angela Merkel reached with U.S. President Joe Biden last year, under which Germany promised to take action at the national level and press for EU sanctions should Russia "use energy as a weapon or commit further aggressive acts against Ukraine."
26 May 2022 - The secret planning that kept the White House a step ahead of Russia
Germany was a reluctant but essential ally, and the Biden administration made a controversial decision last summer that was probably crucial in gaining German support against Russia. Biden gave Germany a pass on an initial round of sanctions against a company building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in exchange for a pledge from Chancellor Angela Merkel that if Russia invaded, Nord Stream 2 would be scrapped. When the invasion came, Merkel was gone but her successor, Olaf Scholz, kept the promise.
26 Feb 2022 - Switzerland faces pressure to toughen sanctions on Russia
Neutral Switzerland is resisting pressure both at home and from the European Union to impose tougher sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine.
On Thursday, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis announced that Switzerland would adopt the same EU travel bans for 367 named Russian individuals and companies. But Switzerland stopped short of freezing financial assets, saying it would instead stop its banks from accepting any more money from those on the sanctions list.
Neutrality
Under this principle, Switzerland must maintain a comparably wide distance from two parties in a conflict. However, international law experts agree that this does not apply if, as in the case of Russia, there has been a clear unilateral attack in violation of international law.
A potential role as mediator in the conflict. Switzerland organised a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Joe Biden in Geneva last June and has repeatedly offered its good offices to both countries. Sanctions could jeopardise the Swiss role in diplomacy.
Location for businessSwitzerland is home to the headquarters of many commodity firms with strong financial involvement with Russia or that are active in the trade of Russian raw materials, such as oil and gas.About 80% of Russia’s commodity trading goes through Switzerland, according to the Russian embassy in Bern. Vitol and Trafigura have stakes in a project of Russian oil giant Rosneft and trade in Russian oil, as does commodity trading Gunvor. All three conduct much of their trading activity out of Geneva.The headquarters of Russia's controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline project is also in Switzerland. The project was cleared for sanctions by the U.S. on Wednesday. This gives Switzerland considerable leverage should it decide to use it.
2 March 2022 - Nord Stream 2 files for bankruptcy, fires employees
[M: this rumour was declined by the company later]
2 March 2022 - Russia sanctions: Nord Stream 2 fires more than 140 people in Zug
Swiss-based company Nord Stream 2, which is in charge of the gas pipeline project between Russia and Germany, has made employees redundant as a result of sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
More than 140 people have lost their jobs at the company, based in the Swiss town of Zug in central Switzerland, according to Economics Minister Guy Parmelin.
13 July 2022 - EU court points to future resurrection of Russian gas pipe (NS2)The move by Nord Stream 2 is apparently aimed at settling claims ahead of a United States sanction deadline for other entities to stop dealings with it.
8 Sept 2022 - Swiss court gives Nord Stream 2 more time to avoid insolvency.
In May, the court granted a provisional moratorium against bankruptcy proceedings for the first time, which was valid until September 10. This period has now been extended by another four months.The Swiss company behind the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 has received a four-month extension to try to repay its debts.
[M: Sanctions are against Russian interests but against Swiss company]
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EUS registered 2 tremors in the Baltic Sea
on the night of Monday 26 September at 02.03 & at 19.03,
both Danish summer time.
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The Big picture of whole Baltic Sea (EEZs)
According to UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), coastal states have sovereign rights over their EEZs, which includes the exclusive right to authorize, regulate and control any activities related to the exploration, exploitation, conservation, and management of the natural resources within their EEZs.Therefore, any investigation within the EEZ must be carried out with the consent and cooperation of state which owns the EEZ. Failure to seek consent may result in a violation of state B's sovereignty and may be considered a breach of international law.
V. The Nordstream AG and Nordstream 2 AG are not dead
6 Oct 2021 - Gazprom's Nord Stream 2 can challenge EU rules, EU court adviser saysGazprom's Swiss unit can challenge an EU gas rule that requires gas producers to be separate companies from those that control the pipeline, an adviser to the EU's top court said on Wednesday.
18 Oct 2022 - Are sabotage of submarine pipelines an ‘armed attack’ triggering a right to self-defence?
A main difficulty in situations such as the damage on the NordStream pipelines, is that the State invoking the right to self-defence bears the burden of proving the facts showing the existence of such an attack against it by a particular State (International Court of Justice (‘ICJ’), Oil Platforms (2003), [51]). In this connection, generic announcements that an attack or other incident will take place prior to the explosions are insufficient evidence to support that any subsequent attack is the work of the State making such public statements (Oil Platforms, [60]).
An ‘Armed Attack’ against Whom? According to the ICJ in Military and Paramilitary Activities in and Against Nicaragua (1986), as well as in Oil Platforms, an ‘armed attack’ involves ‘the most grave forms of the use of force’. ‘Other less grave forms’ of use of force do not meet this threshold. In Nicaragua, the Court had considered the distinction between an ‘armed attack’ and mere ‘frontier incidents’, and relied on the following criteria to draw this distinction: the ‘scale and effects’ of the attack, and the ‘circumstances and motivations’ of the attack. The ‘scale and effects’ criterion is particularly relevant for assessing whether blowing-up major transboundary pipelines may constitute an ‘armed attack’.
However, whether attacks on pipelines on the continental shelf and the EEZ as well as on the high seas, would constitute ‘the most grave form’ of use of force qualifying as an ‘armed attack’ against a particular State (or States) is not straightforward.Separately, although pipelines do not have flags, like vessels, they are owned and operated by companies incorporated in some State jurisdiction. The question arises whether States in whose jurisdiction the company that owns and/operates the pipeline are incorporated may be the victim of an ‘armed attack’ against the pipeline, giving rise to its right to self-defence. In the case of NordStream, this would be Switzerland.
25 Oct 2022 - Nord Stream 1’s insurers and reinsurers are grappling with how to respond to hundreds of millions of dollars in potential claims
Nord Stream 1’s major shareholder, with a 51% stake, is a subsidiary of Russian energy group Gazprom. This company is subject to US, UK, and Canada sanctions, as well as certain restrictions by the European Union.Two sources claimed that renewal of Nord Stream 1 coverage by Lloyd’s syndicates could be difficult due to tighter sanctions against Gazprom. This would prevent claims from being paid.Lawyers said that Nord Stream’s insurance companies will need to prove their policy doesn’t cover the damage from the blasts to avoid any claims.
A Western state actor could be held responsible for the damage, which might be classified as an act of terror. One source suggested that insurance might cover it.If Russia is implicated, however, insurance companies could claim it was “self-sabotage” since Gazprom is state-owned.
28 Dec 2022 - Nord Stream 2 pipeline firm gets 6-month stay of bankruptcy
A Swiss court has granted a six-month “stay of bankruptcy” to the operating company for the never-opened Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was built to bring Russian gas to Germany but put on ice shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
04 April 2022 - Exclusive: German insurers renew cover for blast-damaged Nord Stream gas link
28 April 2022 - Liz Truss - Great to see @ignaziocassis to discuss deepening ties through an enhanced FTA and stepping up cooperation on sanctions against Russia.
VI. Switzerlans is NOT investigating but it should.
27 March 2022 - Security Council Rejects Draft Resolution Establishing Commission to Investigate Sabotage of Nord Stream Pipeline
Security Council Rejects Draft Resolution Establishing Commission to Investigate Sabotage of Nord Stream Pipeline
The Security Council failed today to adopt a resolution, put forward by the representative of the Russian Federation, which would have established an international independent investigative commission into the September 2022 “acts of sabotage” committed on the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea.
By a vote of 3 in favour (Brazil, China, Russian Federation) to none against, with 12 abstentions, the Council rejected the draft resolution, owing to a lack of sufficient votes in favour.
Switzerland’s delegate, noting her delegation’s abstention, echoed expressions of concern about the events at the Nord Stream pipelines and condemned such attacks against critical infrastructure.
However, Denmark, Germany and Sweden are currently conducting national investigations to shed light on the facts of those events, she said, calling on the Council to wait for their results. Mandating an additional investigation would not be beneficial at this stage, she added.
[M: Nordstream companies are incorporated in Switzerland, the state could/should be involved.]
VII. Norway nationalization of pipelines in EEZ
8 April 2023 - Europe's Largest Gas Producer Is Set To Nationalize Its Gas Pipelines
[M: This means that Norway is protecting pipelines by having them covered by state ownership. An attack on nationalized pipelines would mean an attack against Norwegian state. This spells trouble to Switzerland where many international projects are incorporated and for Switzerland as a neutral state.]
CONCLUSION/SUMMARY:
- The attack was at the Swiss company so Switzerland should be demanding to be part of the investigation. They are waiting for DK, SWE, GER to conclude.
- Russian right to be investigation in attack to Nordstream AG is as big as France´s one. Lawyers rule the world. Shareholders see hope in reopening some time in future.
- Russian right to be investigation in attack to Nordstream 2 AG as a majority shareholder should be considered. Lawyers rule the world. Gazprom sees possibility of reopening pipeline some time in future.
- Swiss court decision on 8th of September and its 4 months out-of-bankruptcy extension may have been one of the triggers which provoked the saboteur for the action.
- The decision by insurers hints that the saboteur is already known and insurance companies have confidence to reinsure for next years.
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