The leader of the European People's Party in the European Parliament, Germany's Manfred Weber, called the United States' decision to impose sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project "wrong."
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th December, 2019) The leader of the European People's Party in the European Parliament, Germany's Manfred Weber, called the United States' decision to impose sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project "wrong."The US Senate passed a $738 billion defense budget on Tuesday, which includes funds to counter Russia in various industries, sanctions against Nord Stream 2, and military assistance for Ukraine. The document is now pending approval of the president.
"US behavior with Nord Stream 2 is wrong. You can not impose sanctions on friends and partners and take the economy hostage," Weber said in an interview with the Funke media group.
He went on to say that Germany was not doing enough to get support for the pipeline at the European level.
"We can protect our interests only when we work together with our neighbors. This should be done in respect to the gas pipeline," the politician added.
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 nearly 2 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 at the same time promoting its liquefied natural gas on the European market. Ukraine is also actively opposing Nord Stream 2, fearing that it will lose revenue from Russian gas transit. Russia has repeatedly stated that the project is commercial and competitive, and that it does not imply the cancellation of gas transit via Ukraine.
