BERLIN/MUKRAN (dpa-AFX) - Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Minister President Manuela Schwesig has criticized Mukran on the island of Rügen as the site for a planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal. "We would have been ready for an offshore LNG site, just like our wind farms, far out off the coast," the SPD politician told the Bundesrat in Berlin on Friday. Even then, there would have been interventions, she said. "But it would have been more accepted." The Mukran site is located directly on the coast, she said. "And that leads to very, very many discussions."

On Friday, the Bundesrat dealt with an amendment to the LNG Acceleration Act (LNGG) submitted by the German government. This also provides for Mukran to be included as an LNG site. This would enable faster approvals for the project. The referral was for an opinion before the Bundestag decides.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania failed with its own motion. The motion provided, for example, that the approval of the LNG plant could be limited to a shorter period if necessary. In addition, it was to be stipulated that a fixed terminal in Mukran should replace at least one floating terminal as quickly as possible in order to be able to switch to hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives as quickly as possible, which is not possible with floating terminals.

Schwerin's appearance in the Bundesrat signaled neither support for the planned terminal nor clear opposition. It is true that the motion would have formulated homework for the federal government. However, it did not call for Mukran's inclusion in the LNGG to be abandoned. The citizens' initiative Lebenswertes Rügen previously spoke of a "poker game of the state government" at the expense of the island. In Binz on Rügen, a protest action against the terminal plans was again announced for Friday afternoon.

Schwesig again asked the federal government to explain publicly why the terminal was needed when, for example, the gas storage facilities were largely full. She said she could understand the argument that a safety buffer was needed against the loss of capacity. At the same time, the Federal Environment Ministry's Steffi Lemke (Greens) had stated with regard to LNGG that there should be no overcapacities. Schwesig sees a contradiction in the federal government here.

For the Schwerin state government, she said, "Whether we are for or against it, we will guarantee a procedure based on the rule of law." The political decision, however, lies with the federal government, she said.

The Federal Ministry of Economics again campaigned for the planned terminal in the Bundesrat. "The tense situation on the energy markets, it still has not eased. We still have to take the situation seriously," said Parliamentary State Secretary Stefan Wenzel (Greens). The gas storage facilities alone, even completely filled, were only enough for about 28 percent of Germany's annual demand. In addition, ongoing supplies are needed. The feed-in point in Lubmin in the German state of Vorpommern - to which Mukran is to be connected - has a key role to play, he said. Like nowhere else in Germany, pipeline capacities are available there for gas transport to eastern and southeastern Germany as well as central and eastern Europe.

The chairman of the CDU parliamentary group in Schwerin accused Schwesig of taking an unclear stance. It was a matter of her in the matter of LNG decision "not to have the black Peter in the end," explained Franz-Robert Liskow. The mayor of Binz, Karsten Schneider, found that the head of government had explained "convincingly and eloquently" in the Bundesrat why LNG terminals did not suit Rügen. He said the simultaneous pursuit of the project was contradictory.

The co-ruling Left Party in the Schwerin state parliament, on the other hand, lamented the lack of support from other states in the Bundesrat. Its environmental policy spokesman, Daniel Seiffert, appealed to members of the Bundestag to take Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's interests into account./chh/DP/mis