The destruction of the Baltic gas pipelines has alarmed governments in Europe. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser warns that one must prepare for previously unthinkable scenarios. A Danish expert warns that the detonations would send the signal that anything could be blown up.
After the explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines, the safety of strategic infrastructure, especially in the energy sector, is increasingly coming into focus. “The protection of our critical infrastructure has the highest priority,” said Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) on Wednesday. “We have to prepare for scenarios that were hardly conceivable until recently.” The security authorities are very vigilant, says Faeser.
The Danish military researcher Kristsan Søby Kristensen warns on Danish television of attacks on other pipelines, power and data cables and wind farms on the coasts. “By attacking Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, you’re sending a signal that if you can blow this up, you can blow anything up,” Kristensen said.
Norway also wants to strengthen the protection of the oil and gas infrastructure on the Norwegian continental shelf after the Nord Stream leaks. “Although there is no concrete threat, we are now particularly focused on security,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said at a press conference in Oslo on Wednesday.
In June, the CIA warned of a possible attack on the gas pipelines. This warning was probably not very specific and targeted. In any case, it did not trigger any major measures. The security authorities have long been aware that the energy infrastructure in general could be the target of possible sabotage by domestic and foreign actors.
“The federal police are on the move with their ships 24 hours a day, seven days a week on the North Sea and Baltic Sea,” says Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD). In the coastal areas and on land, the federal states are responsible for averting danger – “the threads come together in the Maritime Security Center in Cuxhaven”.
Since the start of the Russian attack, federal and state intelligence agencies have repeatedly warned critical infrastructure companies of possible sabotage and cyber attacks. In August, after a visit to the federal police in See, Faeser said: “We have to be prepared for attacks on gas terminals and other critical infrastructure.”
“We see again how strongly external and internal security are linked,” says Faeser. You have to be prepared for scenarios “that were hardly conceivable until recently”. Some interior experts in the coalition believe that naming problems here is not enough. In the coalition agreement, the SPD, Greens and FDP formulated: “We are bundling the physical protection of critical infrastructures in a KRITIS umbrella law. We are strategically realigning the concept of ‘civil defence’.” Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht explained on Wednesday: “The alleged act of sabotage on the Baltic Sea pipelines shows us once again that we are dependent on critical infrastructure – also under water. The circumstances of this The disturbing event must now be clarified quickly and those responsible identified.” They have agreed to share information with partner countries. The Navy will help to clarify the situation.
