Berlin Should Sharply Respond To US Financial Pressure Threats Over Nord Stream - Lawmaker

BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th August, 2020) US senators' recent demand for the Sassnitz port to stop supporting the Nord Stream 2 pipeline's construction are "incredibly rude" and require a decisive response from the German Federal government, Leif Erik Holm, the deputy chairman of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the Bundestag, told Sputnik on Friday.

Earlier this week, Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper reported that Republican Senators Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton and Ron Johnson had sent a joint letter to the German port of Sassnitz to demand that it halt services and support for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline or else the US would exert financial pressure.

"The destruction threats from the US are incredibly rude and need a sharp response from the federal government, immediately," Holm, who represents the island of Rugen � where the port is situated � in the parliament, said.

According to the lawmaker, Chancellor Angela Merkel needs to firmly define the limits for the US administration to defend Germany's sovereignty.

"It is unacceptable for an alleged ally to behave like an occupying power here in Germany. We must now assert our sovereignty unequivocally," Holm added.

The politician also believes that the first appropriate reaction to the US' action could be the cancellation of the European sanctions that have been imposed on Russia since 2014 over the crisis in Ukraine.

"That would send the right signals across the Atlantic. If the US senators carry out their threats, Germany must counter them with severe sanctions. We should not be afraid of closing down all US military bases in Germany," the lawmaker noted.

Hols also said that Berlin should propose the purchase of the affected Baltic Sea Mukran port from the town of Sassnitz and the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to make it clear to Washington that Germany would not give in to pressure.

"We have to make it clear to the US once and for all that we will not accept interference in our affairs. This pipeline will be built no matter what the US does," the lawmaker concluded.

Earlier in the day, German businesses urged the authorities of Germany and the European Commission to respond to a letter from US senators in connection with Nord Stream 2, and to protect German and European companies.

At the same time, Holm expressed doubts that Merkel would respond firmly to the US actions, as she is "too afraid of losing" the US market for German products.

Washington's sanctions aim at ensuring the economic domination of the United States, the politician said, adding that the world is now entering "the era of selfishness."

Washington, which promotes its liquefied natural gas in the European Union, and Kiev, which before the diversification of the Russian-EU pipeline network enjoyed exclusive rights and privileges of the key transit country, are the fiercest opponents of the project.

Commenting on the US lawmakers' threat to Sassnitz, Thierry Mariani, a European Parliament member from France's National Rally party, told Sputnik that Washington was ruining an equitable partnership between Europe and the US and would "treat Europe as its backyard" in the future regardless of who sits in the White House.

"These threats are unacceptable. And the European Union is following the United States like a dog, applying the sanctions requested from the US on Russia. We have sort of entered World War III, an economic war between China, the US, Russia, and Europe is becoming an underdeveloped continent," the lawmaker said.

According to Mariani, if a country does not defend itself, it is no longer independent. Within the context, the lawmaker recalled that the only European country that had ensured its independence was France during the presidency of General Charles de Gaulle, who pulled France out of the NATO integrated military structure in 1966.

"And here is Germany losing some of the American troops stationed in the country; the political protectorate [of the US] is being transformed into an economic protectorate," he added.

The politician also called unacceptable any attempts by Washington to put a European country, whether it is Germany or France, under pressure.

"The European Union is submissive and naive. The choice of Nord Stream 2 is a choice of a sovereign state. It will diversify our sources of energy. In addition, in the context of the 'Green deal,' let us recall that importing gas by pipeline from a neighbour, Russia, has less environmental impact than the complex US LNG [liquefied natural gas] proposal," Mariani said.

DIVERSIFICATION AS MEANS TO REDUCE EUROPE'S DEPENDENCE

Markus Buchheit, the AfD representative in the European Parliament, told Sputnik that diversification is the only way to ensure Europe's independence, and the implementation of the Nord Stream 2 project is an important step in improving the diversification of its natural gas supplies.

"We have to consider that other states pursue their own economic and energy policy goals, which do not necessarily coincide with those of Germany; therefore, diversification is the only answer to this fact of reducing one's dependency. Our economy is particularly dependent on Russian gas supplies after the irresponsible policy of the so-called energy turnaround, banning not only nuclear but also carbon energy from our matrix in the near future. North Stream 2 may thus lead to more stability in terms of prices and supply," the lawmaker said.

According to the politician, the US seeks to stop the construction of the pipeline, as it is in a permanent search for export markets to its "often questionably extracted" LNG. The question is whether the EU Commission will tend to German, and thus European, interests or those of the US, Buchheit said, adding that he is absolutely committed to the project.