Germany called on the United States to abandon the Nord Stream-2 sanctions. Vladislav Belov, head of the Center for German Studies at the Institute of Europe at the Russian Academy of Sciences, shared the opinion on whether the United States would follow allies’ requests.
Klaus Ernst, head of the Bundestag committee on economic and energy issues, sent a letter to the American authorities urging to abandon the expansion of sanctions against Nord Stream-2. Excerpts from the document were cited by the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.
“You will undoubtedly resist attempts to intervene in the internal affairs of Texas, Wisconsin or Pennsylvania. Europe, in turn, hopes that you will respect the decisions made in the European Union by democratic means”, – the parliamentarian notes.
He also noted that the extraterritorial application of sanctions undermines the image of the United States and its economy in the EU. The head of the committee rejected allegations that the use of Nord Stream-2 would lead Germany to dependence on Russia, and called them unfounded.
Klaus Ernst also recalled that in order to diversify energy supplies, the German government supported the construction of LNG terminals and also supported the idea of concluding a new five-year transit contract through Ukraine.
Vladislav Belov, head of the Center for German Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, shared the opinion on whether the United States would heed calls.
“No, they don’t listen. The United States has its own tough stance that does not take into account the views of its European partners. They don’t take into account either the views of Germany or Brussels, all the more so as Brussels itself doesn’t have a single opinion. The USA in Europe has supporters of such a tough stance – Poland, first of all. Therefore, we’ll hardly hear anything other than the appeals of Berlin, which presides over the EU Council. So far, the European Union and individual countries, unfortunately, can’t do anything”, – said Belislav Belov.
In early June, a group of US senators drafted a bill to increase sanctions pressure on the Nord Stream 2 construction process. It is supposed to impose restrictions against all ships involved in pipe laying, as well as against companies that insure ships, install special equipment on them or carry out maintenance. In addition to this, it is proposed to introduce sanctions against companies that will certify the finished pipeline.