2021-02-24 11:00:00
NORD STREAM 2: SUPPORTING GERMANY
REUTERS - FEBRUARY 23, 2021 - The European Union does not need the Nord Stream 2 pipeline for its energy security but any decision to stop the project carrying Russian natural gas to Germany would have to come from Berlin, a senior European Commission official said on Tuesday.
The $11 billion pipeline project led by Russia’s state energy company Gazprom, which is more than 90% complete, would double the capacity of an existing undersea pipeline which bypasses Ukraine and deprives Kyiv of transit fees.
The project pits Germany, the EU’s biggest economy, against central and eastern European nations who say it would increase the bloc’s dependence on Russian gas.
“For the European Union as a whole, Nord Stream does not contribute to security of supply,” Ditte Juul Jorgensen, Director General of the Commission’s energy department, told lawmakers in the European Parliament’s industry committee.
Investments over the last decade in other pipelines, liquefied natural gas import terminals and interconnectors in Europe have already secured enough supply to meet the bloc’s energy needs, she said.
Any decision to halt the project would need to be made by Germany, Juul Jorgensen said.
“Actually stopping the construction would require a decision at national level. It’s not a decision that can be taken at European level,” she said.
Nord Stream 2 has faced increased scrutiny as European relations with Russia have deteriorated over the treatment of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
The European Parliament called last month for the EU to stop the pipeline being completed in response to Navalny’s arrest.
On Monday, EU foreign ministers agreed to impose sanctions on four senior Russian officials close to President Vladimir Putin in a mainly symbolic move over the issue.
Despite U.S. sanctions against the pipeline, Berlin has stood by Nord Stream 2, which it says is a commercial project.
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Earlier:
2021, February, 17, 15:50:00
NORD STREAM 2 SANCTIONS CONTINUED
Some 150 km of Nord Stream 2 remains to be laid in Danish and German waters, but the threat of US sanctions against companies involved in laying the pipeline has led to long delays in its completion.
2021, February, 10, 11:50:00
NORD STREAM 2: EASING OF SANCTIONS
Germany was willing to considerably increase its financial support for LNG infrastructure by up to Eur1 billion ($1.2 billion). In exchange, the US would allow the "unhindered construction and operation" of Nord Stream 2.
2021, January, 28, 12:55:00
NORD STREAM 2 SANCTIONS UNCHANGED
At a briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden "continues to believe that Nord Stream 2 is a bad deal for Europe."
2021, January, 26, 12:20:00
NORD STREAM GAS RECORD
Natural gas supplies to European consumers over the Nord Stream gas pipeline increased to record-breaking 59.2 bln cubic meters, Nord Stream AG, the pipeline operator, said.
2021, January, 26, 12:15:00
NORD STREAM 2 DESPITE SANCTIONS
The resumption of work in the Danish offshore Exclusive Economic Zone using the Fortuna comes despite US sanctions imposed Jan. 19 against both the vessel and its Russian owner, KVT-RUS.
2021, January, 22, 11:30:00
NORD STREAM 2: LEGITIMATE BUSINESS
However, Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, reiterated as recently as Jan. 18 that EU companies involved in the construction of the pipeline were conducting "legitimate business."
2021, January, 20, 14:45:00
NORD STREAM 2 SANCTIONS ANEW
"Today, the US is imposing sanctions on the Russia-based entity KVT-RUS and identifying the vessel Fortuna as blocked property," Pompeo said in a statement.
