Monday, October 7, 2024

Ursula von der Leyen and the Nordstream affair



21 Sept 2022 - UK: Truss and Leyen met, one of the topics was EU energy.


21 Sept 2022 - UK/EU: Joint Statement by President von der Leyen and Prime Minister Liz Truss

...President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Liz Truss, met at the UN General Assembly in New York today.

...They strongly condemned Russia's actions in Ukraine and agreed that Putin's recent calls to mobilise parts of the population were a sign that Russia's invasion is failing. It is a statement of weakness...

They also discussed UK EU relations including energy, food security and the Northern Ireland Protocol.

22 Sept 2022 - UA/EU: Zelensky meets with European Commission head in New York

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky met with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in New York, and stressed the importance of strategic dialogue on energy security.

“I thanked von der Leyen for the participation of the EU in the Crimea Platform Summit at the highest level & the allocation of a macro-financial aid tranche. Discussed preparations for the Ukraine-EU Summit on Oct 12. Stressed the importance of strategic dialogue on the EU energy security,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter.

23 Sept 2022 - EU/NATO: On Monday 26 September 2022

the NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, will meet with the President of the European Commission, Ms. Ursula von der Leyen, at the Berlaymont building of the European Commission. There will be no media opportunity.

[MRT: They both just were in NY yet there is an urgent need to meet again? The investigation points to the pre-attack knowledge about the UK´s attack - see other posts - e.g. here or here.] 

26 Sept 2022 - NATO/EU: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General. (See the -3D Fridays urgent Stoltenberg´s request - on NATO web press release pages.)


26 Sept 2022 - NATO/EU: Ursula von der Leyen, @vonderleyen: Great to meet @jensstoltenberg again.

We discussed Russia’s war of aggression and stepping up support for Ukraine.
@NATO-EU cooperation contributes to security and stability, so we believe the time has come to agree a new Joint Declaration to take our partnership forward.

[MRT: I doubt this would be the real reason - that would be a great news to share with public, yet no press was allowed.]

26 Sept 2022 - NATO, EU chiefs hold talk on war in Ukraine

[MRT: News from 22-09-2022 tell that points with Ukraine have already been agreed in NY. There was no big issue to discuss and no big statement came after this meeting. The next day the message was that Allies must continue fund and send weapons to Ukraine. The New strategic compass has been pre-agreed here. What was the reason and the sudden need for a Joint Declaration that sets-up permanent joint dialogue mechanisms?]

Jens Stoltenberg, Ursula von der Leyen also discuss preparations for new NATO-EU Joint Declaration

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a meeting in Brussels.

They underlined that the “time has come to agree to a new Joint Declaration to take our partnership forward” as the cooperation between NATO and EU “contributes to security and stability.”

26 Sept 2022 - EU: Speech by Executive Vice-President Timmermans at the Green Deal Summit in Prague

The only way we can increase our energy sovereignty over the long run is by no longer being dependent on hydrocarbons. 

[MRT: Timmerman was also on the meeting in NY with Jens Stoltenberg.]

28 Sept 2022 - EU: The EU under Ursula von der Leyen proposes next round of sanctions

[MRT: No change in direction/strategy despite an ally just blew up key energy infrastructure. The direction is set from the top.]

"Russia has escalated the invasion of Ukraine to a new level... And we are determined to make the Kremlin pay the price for this further escalation..2) Further restriction of trade: New import bans on Russian products, depriving the 🇷🇺 economy of €7 billion in revenues...

[MRT: One of the main motives to blow up Nordstream was to lower Russian income from hydrocarbons to make the war more costly. The statement could be understood that she knew about the motive. This could also explain why she was among first to propose "it was a sabotage" not a "terrorist act". If so there COULD be legal repression for collusion with the perpetrator.] 

A legal basis for an oil price cap. Some developing countries still need some Russian oil supplies, at low-prices. This cap will help reduce Russia’s revenues and keep global energy markets stable."

[MRT: The cap was proposed before, Norway opposed it until the Nordstream attack, note that after that the NOR Prime Minister changed 180 degrees his angle and stood behind the price cap. Why?] 

28 Sept 2022 - EU: European Commission @EU_Commission, Von der Leyen -  

Russia is using the profits from the sale of fossil fuels to finance its war. Today we are laying the legal basis for an oil price cap. It will help reduce Russia's revenues and keep global energy markets stable.

28 Sept 2022 - EU: Von der Leyen: "Any deliberate disruption of active European energy infrastructure is unacceptable and will lead to the strongest possible response," she said. 

[MRT: Did she mean the Nordstream affair or a possible Russian retaliation on other European infrastructure?] 

28 Sept 2022 - EU: The Brief — Beware of sabotage acts

Both European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel have called it sabotage, while the EU’s chief diplomat Joseph Borrell saidthese incidents are not a coincidence” and “all available information indicates those leaks are the result of a deliberate act”.

[MRT: In thi post I collected hdata about who said what straight after the event - here. The postulate here is that it would be impossible to know the definition of the "deliberate act" unless someone knows who has done it and what were their motives.]

29 Sept 2022 - RU: Putin told Erdogan he regarded Nord Stream emergency as act of international terrorism

"The Russian president gave a principled assessment of the unprecedented sabotage, which is in fact an act of international terrorism against the main gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2. It was noted that Russia is bringing this issue up for urgent discussion in the UN Security Council," the statement reads.

[MRT: In this post I explore definition of the event - here 


European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen slammed the incidents as sabotage, pointing out that any "deliberate disruption of the European energy infrastructure is unacceptable and will lead to the strongest possible response".

[MRT: Framing Russian has failed.]

1 Oct 2022 - EU: Ursula von der Leyen, @vonderleyen: The task ahead of us is clear.

[MRT: No fixing, reopening pipeline as a long term solution to tap on a reliable supplier? Sounds like it was decided not to solve the case already back then.]

We need to reduce energy costs, while preserving a level-playing field in our single market.
We have to do this as Europeans, jointly, through a common solution.

[MRT: She is supporting not EU but European solution - aka the UK energy insecurity is included.] 

This is what we will discuss in Prague with #EUCO leaders.

[MRT: See this post about the Prague summit 


6 Oct 2022 - NOR/EU: Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the European Summit in Prague. © Tone Hertzberg / Prime Minister's Office

7 Oct 2022 - EU: Ursula von der Leyen, @vonderleyen: Important discussions ahead at the informal #EUCO
Gas price caps to tackle energy price peaks exacerbated by manipulation. We need a consensus.
Preserving the single market and a level playing field. Let us act together, notably via #REPowerEU 

7 Oct 2022 - UK: Truss: "This is not about moving closer to Europe. This is about working with Europe on issues that we both face. And we both face rising energy costs," Truss said in response to a question from a reporter. 

7 Oct 2022 - EU: Ursula von der Leyen, @vonderleyen: Important discussions ahead at the informal #EUCO

Gas price caps to tackle energy price peaks exacerbated by manipulation. We need a consensus.
Preserving the single market and a level playing field. Let us act together, notably via #REPowerEU

[MRT: Proposal solution which excluded Russian gas - aka long term planning and investment as if they knew the Nordstream investigation will be stonewalled.]  

7 Oct 2022 - GER: Europe came even closer together in Prague

European leaders discussed support for Ukraine at the informal European Council in Prague as well as what to do about the high energy prices. Before that, the Federal Chancellor attended the inaugural meeting of the European Political Community.

Europe stands united during this crisis
Another important topic was energy prices, which are far too high. The European energy ministers agreed on a common emergency package last week in order to reduce the cost of energy in Europe, which will now be implemented at the national level.

The EU finance ministers have also agreed to implement the REPowerEU programme, which, according to Scholz, "is a package with which we are mobilising funds of well in excess of 200 billion euros". This will stimulate investments in the energy sector, which will ensure Europe's long-term independence from Russian energy imports.

The Federal Chancellor highlighted the fact that Europe is financially strong enough to face the crisis. So far, only about one fifth of the generous funds from the major Next Generation EU programme, which was jointly adopted during the German EU Council Presidency, have been disbursed. "So," Scholz added, "we still have 600 billion euros of crisis management money available on our side.”

With the addition of national funds, this 600 billion is a "huge European financial commitment to counter Putin's attempts to bring Europe to its knees through energy blackmail", the Federal Chancellor said.

Security, stability, and prosperity in Europe
The purpose of the European Political Community (EPC) is to promote political dialogue and collaboration in the interest of Europe as a whole, with a view to enhancing security, stability, and prosperity on the European continent.

The event was also attended by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

[MRT: See this post about the Prague summit - first day it was European leaders, on the second day EU officials joined. It looks like in Prague it was agreed to keep the identity of the perpetrator hidden.]  

 


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