BERLIN (Reuters) – Sweden’s public prosecutor investigating the leaks said Sweden had rejected plans to set up a formal joint investigative team with Denmark and Germany to look into recent defections in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines.
Mats Ljungqvist, the public prosecutor involved in the Swedish criminal investigation into the Nord Stream leaks in the Swedish economic zone, said that Sweden is already cooperating with Denmark and Germany on the matter.
He said Sweden had rejected the proposal for a joint investigation team (JIT) from judicial cooperation agency Eurojust because such a joint investigation would involve legal agreements under which Sweden would have to share information from its own investigation that it considers classified.
Register now to get free unlimited access to Reuters.com
“This is because there is classified information in our investigation directly related to national security,” Ljungqvist told Reuters.
He made his comment after a report in German weekly Der Spiegel on Friday that Sweden had rejected plans for a joint investigation with Denmark and Germany, citing German security sources.
A spokesperson for the Swedish Security Services said the Security Police were cooperating closely with other authorities, also internationally, as part of the Swedish criminal investigation.
Germany’s Tagesschau TV program broadcast on German broadcaster ARD said Denmark, too, had refused to set up a joint investigation team.
A spokesman for the German Interior Ministry said on Friday that the German Federal Police has completed its role in the investigation of an alleged act of sabotage on Nord Stream pipelines and has handed over its findings.
Asked about reports that Sweden would not investigate Germany and Denmark, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson told Reuters: “No, as I understand this is not true. We are working with Germany and Denmark on this issue.”
Eurojust says on its website that the Joint Investigation Team is used for international cooperation in criminal matters, including a legal agreement between the authorities of two or more countries for the purpose of conducting criminal investigations.
Register now to get free unlimited access to Reuters.com
Written by Rachel Moore. Additional reporting by Anna Ringström in Stockholm, Andreas Reinke; Editing by Kirsti Knolle and Jane Merriman
Our criteria: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
“Lifelong food lover. Avid beeraholic. Zombie fanatic. Passionate travel practitioner.”