British parliamentarian Daniel Kawczynski said on Monday, June 8, that it is difficult to assess the” betrayal ” of Europe by Germany because of cooperation with Russia on the Nord stream – 2 project. The politician told the Daily Express.
The project operator is looking for a way to complete the gas pipeline
“It is difficult to overestimate the scale of treachery that this gas pipeline represents. Germany is a NATO member committed (on paper) to protecting the continent from possible Russian interference and influence,” he concluded.
Kawczynski believes that Germany, as one of the most important members of the European Union, is becoming more exposed to Russian influence, “tying its industrial power” to the Russian energy network.
The politician discussed the issue of sanctions against the Russian project with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the past and earlier this year called on the Cabinet to ” act.” However, the government told him that restrictive measures during the transition period are not possible unilaterally and the UK should follow the sanctions regime of Brussels.
Currently, according to Kavcinski, for the sake of supporting NATO allies, the Kingdom should ” regain control of foreign policy, support the American sanctions regime and ensure that the Nord stream 2 never ends.”
The MP believes that the UK should “go on the scene and bury the gas pipeline once and for all.”
On June 5, the Eastern Committee of the German economy (OAOEV) issued a statement saying that the plans of the United States undermine the legal security of the European Union and could threaten dozens of companies. According to OAOEV Chairman Oliver Hermes, the new sanctions threaten to lead to great disagreements in transatlantic relations.
On the same day, the official representative of the Alternative for Germany faction in the Bundestag on energy, Steffen Kotre, said that Berlin should respond with sanctions to Washington’s new actions against Nord stream 2. According to the politician, conversations will lead to nothing.
On June 4, a bill to expand sanctions against Nord stream 2 was submitted to the US Senate. According to the document, it is proposed to impose sanctions against insurance companies working with vessels that are involved in the energy project.
In December 2019, Washington imposed sanctions against Nord stream 2. For this reason, the Swiss company Allseas, which is engaged in the construction of the gas pipeline, withdrew its pipe-laying vessels from the Baltic sea and stopped work.
Nord stream 2 is being built from Russia to Germany along the bottom of the Baltic sea in order to ensure direct gas supplies to Europe. Of the 2.46 thousand km of gas pipeline, 2.3 thousand have already been laid, and Russia plans to complete the remaining segment itself. It is assumed that the Russian pipe-laying vessel Akademik Chersky can do this.
