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The US government wants to avoid Nord Stream 2 shortly before its completion. He is currently in contact with European companies and warns them of the first sanctions. A change in the White House probably won’t change that.
The US government sees the German-Russian Baltic Sea Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the last meters before the end and increases the pressure of sanctions on participating European companies. “This pipeline will not be carried out,” said a senior US government representative from the dpa news agency. “This is what a dying pipe looks like.”
The government has identified a number of companies and individuals facing initial sanctions under the Nord Stream 2 Sanctions Act. Those affected are being contacted and informed about the impending sanctions. “The United States does not want to have to impose sanctions on European companies. We are making these calls to warn them and give them time to exit,” the government official said.
Sanctions by large majority in Congress
The handling of activities in connection with Nord Stream 2 is not subject to penalties. “Instead of investing more money in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and related activities, companies would be better off using force majeure clauses to reverse their stake in Nord Stream 2,” the government official said. He did not provide any information on the companies that would be specifically contacted. He called Nord Stream 2 “a geopolitical project that Russia will use to blackmail European countries.”
The United States argues that Germany would depend on Moscow for the pipeline. The US Congress passed the “Act to Protect Europe’s Energy Security” (Peesa) with bipartisan support last December. Despite strong criticism from Germany and Russia, US President Donald Trump put the law into effect on December 20. The sanctions were directed at the operators of the special ships that laid the pipes of the oil pipeline.
As a result, construction was initially stopped. The Swiss company Allseas, which had installed pipelines in the Baltic Sea with special ships, stopped working late last year due to looming US sanctions. According to the Nord Stream 2 consortium of operators, 2,300 of the 2,460-kilometer gas pipeline from Russia to Germany had already been laid.
When in doubt, Russia wants to continue building on its own
The US government official said the cost of the delay meant that the consortium of operators was faced with the option “of going to Moscow for a bailout or asking creditors for additional money, and in recent months we have had commitments of current creditors “. received that there will be no additional or new funding. “
After the US sanctions were imposed, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he would complete the work independently, regardless of foreign partners. The consortium of operators had also emphasized that they wanted to complete the pipeline.
In October, the US State Department published new guidelines, according to which the provision of certain services and facilities for lay ships could be penalized. The US government official said a first government report would be presented to Congress in the next few days or weeks. It would name people and companies that potentially violate the law.
Biden is also a critic of the pipeline
He stressed that supporters of Nord Stream 2 should not be hopeful of a change of government in Washington, noting that the punitive measures are supported by all parties and provide for mandatory sanctions. “That means sanctions will be implemented regardless of who sits in the Oval Office.”
The new president of the United States will be sworn in on January 20. After the November 3 election, Democrat Joe Biden was declared the winner. The current Trump is a staunch opponent of Nord Stream 2. Biden is also critical of the project. In his previous role as vice president of the United States under Barack Obama, Biden had called the pipeline “a fundamentally bad business for Europe.”
