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Fact check: Germany tried to halt the construction of an LNG terminal in Croatia.
1. Summary of the results
The claim that Germany tried to halt the construction of an LNG terminal in Croatia is demonstrably false. In fact, the evidence shows the opposite - Germany has been actively supportive and cooperative regarding the Croatian LNG terminal. Bavaria, a German state, has established a strategic partnership with Croatia and Austria concerning the terminal [1]. Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder personally visited the facility to discuss potential gas and hydrogen supply arrangements [2].
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
Several important contextual elements are missing from the original statement:
- The Krk LNG terminal is actually being expanded, with Croatia planning to invest €180 million to increase its capacity [3]
- The terminal has faced opposition, but from local environmental activists, not Germany [4] [5]
- The Croatian Prime Minister has compared their terminal's capacity to Germany's own planned LNG terminals, noting that Croatia's capacity is about half of Germany's [3] [3]
- While there are LNG terminal controversies in Germany, they relate to domestic projects - specifically, Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) filing objections to a Baltic Sea LNG terminal near Rügen [6]
3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement
The original statement appears to be completely misleading and may serve to:
- Create false narratives about German-Croatian relations, when in reality there is strong cooperation between the countries on energy matters
- Obscure the actual source of opposition to the terminal, which comes from environmental activists at the local level [4]
- Ignore the broader context of European energy cooperation, particularly the strategic partnership between Croatia, Austria, and Bavaria [1]
The statement might benefit those who wish to portray discord within the EU regarding energy infrastructure projects, when the evidence actually shows significant cooperation and mutual support between these nations.