#USA #EU #Germany #Russia #nordstream2 #Northstream2 #sanctions
Several US senators want to prevent the completion of Nord Stream 2 with a bill. It also provides for punitive measures for companies that are not directly involved in the construction.
Several US senators want to prevent the completion of Nord Stream 2 with a bill. It also provides for punitive measures for companies that are not directly involved in the construction.
"The plans are a direct threat to legal security in the EU and would lead to US sanctions against dozens of German and European companies," said Oliver Hermes, chairman of the Eastern Committee of German Business.
The new draft law does not only provide for sanctions against companies that provide the ships for laying the pipes. Companies that provide ships for other activities related to the laying work should also be punished.
For example, this could involve digging trenches for the pipeline. Companies that insure such ships also face sanctions. The same applies to companies that certify the pipeline so that it can go into operation.
Nord Stream 2 AG announced that it was examining the possible effects of adopting the draft law for the project. East Committee chairman Hermes spoke of a "large piece of broken glass in a transatlantic relationship" that the punitive measures could cause.
Senator Cruz, on the other hand, said there was a bipartisan consensus in both chambers of Congress that Nord Stream 2 "poses a critical threat to America's national security and cannot be completed."
In December, both the Senate and the House of Representatives passed a "law to protect Europe's energy security" by major majorities, which is to be supplemented by the new draft.
Trump signed the punitive measures at the end of last year despite harsh criticism from Germany and Russia. The Swiss company Allseas, which had laid pipes in the Baltic Sea with special ships, ceased work at the end of last year due to the impending US sanctions.
Trump is extremely critical of Nord Stream 2. In June last year, the president criticized: "We protect Germany from Russia, and Russia gets billions of dollars from Germany." The Russian lay ship "Akademik Cherskiy" is now expected to complete the project.
According to company information from last month, more than 2,300 of the roughly 2,460 km gas pipeline has already been relocated from Russia to Germany. The Russian company Gazprom is formally the only shareholder in Nord Stream 2 AG based in Zug, Switzerland.
Added to this are the "supporters" of the German companies Wintershall - a joint venture between BASF and LetterOne - and Uniper (a spin-off from Eon) as well as the Dutch-British Shell, Engie (formerly GDF Suez) from France and OMV from Austria.
Nord Stream's Chairman of the Supervisory Board is former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (1998-2005), at Nord Stream 2 he is Chairman of the Board of Directors.
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