Construction Of Nord Stream 2 Defended By Merkel
Nord Stream 2 has been the centre of a long-running dispute between the United States and Germany. Washington has criticised Nordstream 2 for potentially increasing Europe’s dependence on Russian gas but at the same time seeing it as reducing opportunities for US liquid natural gas exports to Europe. Whilst eastern European states, especially Ukraine, fear the loss of pipeline transit taxes on Russian gas exports to Western and Central Europe via their transmission pipeline grids.
Not surprisingly, Moscow’s treatment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and recent aggression towards Ukraine has not helped stem criticism of the Nordstream pipeline which is nearing completion.
German Chancellor Merkel defended the pipeline in a recent Council of Europe virtual conference noting that Nord Stream 2 is yet to be completed and that Russian natural gas exports arrive in Europe through other pipelines. These include the existing subsea Nord Stream One which brings Russian gas to Germany as well as pipelines passing through Poland, the Czech Republic and the Ukraine to German markets.
A defiant Merkel said “the gas delivered through Nord Stream 2, which isn’t yet flowing, is no worse than the gas from Nord Stream 1, that which flows through Ukraine and that which comes across Turkey from Russia.”