Possible new U.S. sanctions against Nord Stream 2 are aimed at halting the project’s implementation, which complies with EU legislation, and therefore unacceptable, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office Niels Annen said on Wednesday, as reported by TASS.
“It would block a commercial project, which is being implemented on the basis of EU law,” he said.
“The position of the German government on this issue is unequivocal: extraterritorial sanctions are a blatant interference with EU sovereignty. It is obvious that the U.S. side is trying to unilaterally stop the project,” Annen said.
He pointed out that, in addition to German, French, Dutch, and Austrian companies, as well as services, in particular, certification and supervision, may be at risk of restrictive measures.
“The fact that the U.S. Congress acts as a regulator in European affairs is absurd,” he emphasized. “The German government is convinced that the differences between the allies should be resolved through negotiations. Sanctions represent the wrong way.”
The Nord Stream 2 project includes the construction of two pipelines with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany.
The pipeline will bypass transit states (Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland) through exclusive economic zones and territorial waters of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. Gazprom’s European partners —British-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, Austrian OMV, French Engie, and German Uniper and Wintershall —fund 50% of the project in total.
