Ahead of a vote on amendments to the Gas Directive that would let the European Commission gain leverage over the Russian-European pipeline venture, France has contravened Germany and decided to back the new regulations.
Commenting on France’s plans to back the new EU regulations, possibly torpedoing international pipeline project Nord Stream 2, Russia defended the venture, saying it is beneficial for all EU countries. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov promised that Moscow intends to closely follow the discussions in Brussels on the project while continuing to work on it.
Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has refuted the main point of criticism against the international project Nord Stream 2, under which natural gas would be brought to Europe via the Baltic Sea and a hub in Germany, saying it would not make her country dependent on Russia.