Before a special session of the parliamentary control committee on the Nord Stream explosions, its chairman Konstantin von Notz urges comprehensive information. “There is a fundamental need for information,” said the Green politician to the “Tagesspiegel”. “We MPs are expecting a report from the Attorney General and want to be comprehensively updated by the federal government.” The deputy chairman Roderich Kiesewetter (CDU) made a similar statement in the RTL/ntv “early start”: “We expect comprehensive reports from the Attorney General, the federal government and also the services.”
The Parliamentary Control Committee (PCGr) is convening today for a special session. It has 13 members and is responsible for controlling the federal intelligence services. The federal government must inform the committee about the activities of the intelligence services and about events of particular importance. According to the Bundestag, the PKGr can also request reports from you on other events.
Excitement from media reports
At the end of September there were explosions in the Baltic Sea. Both strands of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and one strand of Nord Stream 2 leaked. The gas pipelines run from Russia to Germany. According to investigators, it was an act of sabotage.
ARD, SWR and “Zeit” had reported that a group of six rented a yacht and probably transported the explosives from Rostock to the pipelines. Two of the people have Ukrainian passports. However, a connection to government agencies cannot be established. Several politicians had warned against jumping to conclusions.
Von Notz recommended in the “Tagesspiegel” to be “maximum reluctance to draw any conclusions at this point in time”. It is “very likely to be dealing with a state or quasi-state actor because it is very demanding to transport large quantities of explosives – up to two tons are now being discussed – undetected to the right place in the Baltic Sea, him to a relevant depth in order to trigger several explosions in a controlled manner”.
Notz suspects “traces of deception”
Von Notz said: “An act of terrorism with a state background makes it more likely that false or deceptive traces were laid.” Accordingly, you have to be careful with interim results: “It is determined with an open mind. So far, however, there is no evidence.”
The Greens politician emphasized that the parliamentarians, as controllers of the German intelligence services, “wanted to be able to understand whether they are working effectively and well, whether they are properly investigating all indications of the pipeline attackers and whether they are cooperating internationally to an appropriate extent,” von Notz told the “Tagesspiegel”. They have “great understanding that careful investigations take time, but there is also an obligation to provide information to Parliament and the public.”
Kiesewetter also pointed out the low level of knowledge. “As it stands, they are state or quasi-state actors,” said the CDU MP. But: “In this information war, false tracks are deliberately being laid, so we should be very careful there.” He doesn’t exclude anyone, “including Russia, by the way.”
