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Nord Stream 2 is a direct pipeline from Russia to Germany that will go nowhere. The project has already withstood fierce opposition from many European countries and the United States. One of the key victims is Ukraine.
Germany, for whom the gas pipeline is part of Europe’s geopolitical balance, is determined to complete the project. This was reported in The New York Times publication.
Construction is reportedly nearly complete with less than 100 miles (160 km) to go. Eastern European countries fear that Russia may turn off its gas, while continuing to supply Germany. In this case, the Eastern Europeans will remain “face to face with the Kremlin.”
Europe’s gas infrastructures are interconnected and the case of the European Union against Gazprom, the Russian state company that supplies gas through pipelines, has undermined its monopoly power. This means that Nord Stream 2 will have an impact on the energy security of most European countries.
“There is an obvious loser from the pipeline: Ukraine… Most of the Russian gas currently supplied to Europe passes through this country. But if Nord Stream 2 is completed and Russia significantly reduces the volume of gas supplied through Ukraine, Kiev will lose more than a billion dollars a year in transit fees. Already a victim of Russian military and economic pressure, this will be an additional blow to the country, “the newspaper writes.
This should be enough for Germany, which supports Ukraine, to cancel the project. But there are also many other reasons. Few of Germany’s allies support the pipeline, and French leaders were the last to demand that it be canceled. Many Europeans see this as “a blatant example of German hypocrisy.”
Furthermore, Nord Stream 2 “does not fit in well with Germany’s self-assessment as a leader in green energy.” German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s explanation that the pipeline, built and financed by a Russian state company, is a “commercial project” makes Berlin’s policies even more cynical.
As OBOZREVATEL reported:
