This Chatham House meeting is chaired by Katja Bego (Senior Research Fellow, Chatham House Europe Programme). also on the pane are: James Black — Deputy Director, Defence and Security; European Lead, Space, RAND Europe, Dr. Kalina K. Damianova — Visiting Research Fellow, King’s College London, Bojan Pancevski — Chief European Political Correspondent, The Wall Street Journal; author of The Nord Stream Conspiracy.
The sabotage of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline in 2022 exposed vulnerabilities in Europe’s energy system and wider infrastructure. It also highlighted risks linked to Russia’s grey-zone warfare and the vulnerability of undersea networks. It has driven efforts to strengthen resilience and raised urgent questions about Europe’s readiness to deter and respond to future threats.
This session discusses:
- What do we know about who was behind the Nord Stream sabotage?
- Has Europe learned the lessons from Nord Stream?
- What progress has Europe made on achieving energy independence?
- How exposed is Europe’s critical infrastructure to future attacks?
- What has Europe done to strengthen the protection of undersea networks?
It is the hottest day of the year and therefore appropriate to be discussing energy.
The Nord Stream pipeline provides the crown jewels for Europe and Russia’s energy pipeline.
Nord Stream was the largest oil pipeline in the world. An elite unit of the Ukrainian armed forces caused the sabotage of Nord Stream. They wanted to break the geopolitical bond between Moscow and Europe. They used proxy civilians to attack the pipeline, 3 civilian divers who were joined by. A fourth. A court in Hamburg is bringing forth charges against a former Ukrainian special forces captain.
There is a focus to move to renewable energy. Dependence is no longer on Russian energy.
Maritime data cables carry 97% of the internet data. The infrastructure is growing and is inherently vulnerable. There are natural hazards, accidents as well as cases of malicious damage and sabotage. Russia has advantages in hybrid warfare.
Russia would be seeking at multiple points to attack this infrastructure in the event of war between them and NATO.
Biden said that he would attack the pipeline but he meant by sanctions and not the CIA blowing it up.
How has the green energy revolution since 2022 allowed the independence of European energy? There is a growing exposure on the US market. They are independent from Russian gas. Energy is a direct concern for NATO. There could be cybersecurity dependencies on Chinese technology. There have been drone attacks on nuclear power stations in Ukraine.
Was the attack a proxy attack by Ukrainians on behalf of the USA? The relationships between the CIA and the Ukrainians who did it. The CIA actually tried to stop it. They warned the Germans.
It is clear that the sabotage of Nord Stream demonstrated a weakness in Europe’s energy defense. It is also clear how Europe has adapted and moved on form that point. The lecture provided vital insight about the critical topic of energy in Europe.
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