Prospective US sanctions against gas pipeline project Nord Stream 2 are directed against EU sovereignty and jeopardize the agreement reached at the Normandy Four summit on Ukraine in Paris, the German Eastern Business Association (OAOEV) said on Tuesday
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th December, 2019) Prospective US sanctions against gas pipeline project Nord Stream 2 are directed against EU sovereignty and jeopardize the agreement reached at the Normandy Four summit on Ukraine in Paris, the German Eastern Business Association (OAOEV) said on Tuesday.The US Congress plans to pass a defense budget bill later this week, which attempts to block the further construction of the Russia-sponsored Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, extending sanctions on the project's European partners. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the construction of Nord Stream 2 was nearing completion.
"If these sanctions are introduced, it will be a direct attack on the EU sovereignty and a fatal signal for settlement efforts in Paris," OAOEV chief Oliver Hermes said in a statement.
According to Hermes, the EU has issued all the necessary permits to launch Nord Stream 2, and appropriate regulation for operation is being adopted.
"US intervention would be more than an unfriendly act, it would seriously damage transatlantic relations, which are based on mutual respect," the head of the relevant union said.
Talking about the progress achieved on the Ukrainian settlement at the summit in Paris, Hermes noted that sanctions were putting at stake rapprochement between the parties, as well as the need for unity between Russia and Ukraine on a new gas transit agreement by the end of the year.
The Nord Stream 2 is a joint venture between Gazprom and five European companies: France's ENGIE, Austria's OMV, the UK-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, and Germany's Uniper and Wintershall. The 745-mile-long twin pipeline will carry up to 55 billion cubic meters (1.942 trillion cubic feet) of gas per year from Russia to Germany, passing through the territorial waters or exclusive economic zones of Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia and Sweden.
The United States has been consistently trying to undermine the project, threatening everyone involved with sanctions, while promoting its liquefied natural gas on the European market. Ukraine is also actively opposing Nord Stream 2, fearing to lose revenue from Russian gas transit. Russia has repeatedly stated that the project was absolutely commercial and competitive, and that it did not imply a cancellation of the transit of Russian gas via Ukraine to the EU.
On Monday, the leaders of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine met in Paris in the Normandy format after a three-year hiatus to discuss the settlement of the Donbas crisis. The summit adopted a joint communique that outlines the next steps in the peace process, including an "all for all" exchange of conflict-related detainees and the implementation of the ceasefire by the year-end, as well as the coordination of new areas for the disengagement of forces.
