The FDP parliamentary group wants to finally close the chapter on the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline. "As Free Democrats, we demand the dismantling of Nord Stream 2 and the fastest possible development of a concept for legal, technical and environmental protection," says a position paper adopted at the autumn meeting in Bremen, which is available to the German Press Agency.

The FDP parliamentary group wants to end all purchases of raw materials and energy from Russia and Belarus as quickly as possible, insofar as this is permitted by their own economic capacity to act. "Right from the start, the Nord Stream pipelines were a geopolitical project of the Kremlin, the aim of which was to isolate Ukraine. That is why the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in particular led to considerable resentment and diplomatically isolated Germany," says the decision in which further support is also promised to Ukraine.

SPD faction leader Rolf Mützenich showed no interest in the proposal of the coalition partner FDP. "I really have other concerns at the moment than thinking about what we might dismantle again in this context," he said after a closed meeting of the parliamentary group in Dresden.

Criticism came from the AfD parliamentary group: "Germany is still dependent on Russian gas. This will not change in the foreseeable future," said economic policy spokesman Leif-Erik Holm. The opening of the pipeline should no longer be taboo. "If we don't get enough gas through Nord Stream 1, we'll just have to get it through Nord Stream 2."

Kubicki opposes this

In the FDP position paper, the liberals demand that Russia's aggression must continue to be answered with economic sanctions. Sanctions worked, the first effects are already visible. "We are calling for the sanctions against members of the Russian leadership to be expanded and we are in favor of expelling family members of people on the sanctions list and withdrawing visas," said the FDP parliamentary group. "If individual countries, including EU accession candidates, circumvent sanctions or even supply weapons to Russia, this cannot go unchallenged. If EU accession candidates circumvent the sanctions, the pre-accession aid must be canceled."

FDP Vice Wolfgang Kubicki rejects his group's demand. "Such demands are very popular, possibly populist, but are not realistic," Kubicki told the Welt television channel on Friday. He is "currently lacking the imagination as to which company from Germany should actually get the line back out of the Baltic Sea and pay for whom at what cost".

The Vice President of the Bundestag pleaded for a long-term perspective: "In 10 or 15 years we may still be happy that it is there because we can do exactly what we are currently agreeing with the Norwegians, namely CO2 via these gas lines to the storage facilities to be transported in Russia," said Kubicki.