MEP heavily criticizes Nord Stream-2
Manfred Weber, the leader of the largest European People’s Party, heavily criticized the construction plans for the gas pipeline Nord Stream-2. The Financial Times reported on May 2nd that Weber wrote about this in his letter to the German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Sigmar Gabriel, and European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete.
Weber claims that the construction of the gas pipeline runs counter to foreign-policy goals of the European Union as it increases the dependency of Europe on Russian gas monopoly Gazprom.
“The European Union runs the risk of adverse consequences in the issue of gas supplies to Central and Eastern Europe and Ukraine,” Weber wrote. He noted that Gazprom plans to halt gas supplies via Ukraine after completion of the gas pipeline.
In April, Cañete met with the former Chancellor of Germany, the Chairman of the Board of Nord Stream AG, Gerhard Schröder, and the Managing Director of Nord Stream AG, Matthias Warnig. The European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy expressed concern over the influence of the gas pipeline project on energy security of the European Union. In March, eight countries of the European Union opposed the construction of the Russian gas pipeline.
The leaders of Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Lithuania signed a letter to the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker. Nord Stream-2 should transport gas from the Russian Federation under the Baltic Sea directly to the European domestic market. The transport capacity of the gas pipeline is planned at 55 billion cubic meters effectively doubling gas supplies to Germany.