Klaus Ernst, head of the Bundestag’s economics and energy committee, expects the German government to dissuade the US from pursuing sanctions
Europe must develop a common strategy to counter the USA’s extraterritorial sanctions if Berlin fails to dissuade Washington from imposing restrictive measures against participants of Nord Stream 2. Klaus Ernst, head of the Bundestag’s economics and energy committee, told TASS on Tuesday.
“I expect the German government to dissuade the US from its sanctions course. If that fails, we need to think together with our EU partners how to act against these sanctions. The EU urgently needs an effective strategy”, – the left-wing MP said.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said that more than 15 legal entities “made a good faith effort to wind down activities” related to the construction of the pipeline. On Tuesday, it was revealed that a subsidiary of German insurer Munich Re Syndicate Ltd had withdrawn from the project.
Ernst believes that many businesses are “still wary of the US and prefer to follow US rules rather than European ones”.
“Thus the US is interfering in intra-European business, this is unacceptable”, – said the Left Party spokesman. He hopes that new firms will replace those that have withdrawn from the project. The U.S. has previously adopted a number of laws that imply sanctions against the participants of Nord Stream – 2. The laws in question are the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act and the Protection of European Energy Security Act.
Germany has repeatedly stated that it considers the US extraterritorial sanctions illegal.