Merkel believes that the European Commission will not be able to block the construction of the Nord Stream 2

The German Chancellor is confident that despite the adoption of a new EU gas directive, it is no longer possible to stop the construction of a gas pipeline.

According to Angela Merkel, the European Commission will no longer be able to block the construction of Nord Stream 2.  “The project is almost fully approved”, she said on Wednesday, May 15, in Ravensburg.

The new gas directive makes it possible to protest the implementation of the gas pipeline, but this norm cannot be a reason for stopping it, Merkel says.

At the same time, the “key issue” in the construction of the second gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea, in her opinion, is the Ukrainian issue.  “Ukraine must remain a transit country, despite the Nord Stream”, the chancellor stressed and promised to discuss this issue with Volodymyr Zelensky after he assumed the position of Ukrainian president.

The main candidate for the post of the Head of the European Commission from the center-right European Popular Party (EPP) Manfred Weber is against the Nord Stream 2.  Angela Merkel explained this with his respect for the position of Eastern European countries expressing concerns about the project.

Manfred Weber has repeatedly spoken out against the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.  If he heads the European Commission, he will make every effort to block the project, the German politician warned.  This gas pipeline is “not in the interests of the European Union”, because it will increase the EU’s dependence on Russian raw materials, he argues.

In turn, Gazprom’s Chairman Olexiy Miller reported on May 15 that Nord Stream 2 was already half built.  “The project is being implemented on schedule. We have crossed the landmark line: 50.6 percent of the total length of the gas pipeline — 1.241 km — has already been laid in the Baltic Sea”, he said.

It was reported earlier that the US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry believes that Nord Stream 2 not only poses a threat to Europe’s energy security, but together with Turkish Stream will enable Russia to realize its public threats to stop gas transit through Ukraine.


Source: www.dw.com

Tags: Gazprom, gas, Naftogaz, contracts, Nord Stream 2, Kobolyev, legislation, EU, The European Commission, gas transit

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