The European Union does not need the Nord Stream 2 pipeline for its energy security but any decision to stop the project carrying Russian natural gas to Germany would have to come from Berlin, a senior European Commission official said on Tuesday.
This was reported by Reuters.
The $11 billion pipeline project led by Russia’s state energy company Gazprom, which is more than 90% complete, would double the capacity of an existing undersea pipeline which bypasses Ukraine and deprives Kyiv of transit fees. The project pits Germany, the EU’s biggest economy, against central and eastern European nations who say it would increase the bloc’s dependence on Russian gas.
European Commission Vice President Franz Timmermans told in an interview with Tagesspiegel that the project is not necessary for the EU's energy supply and this has always been said by the Brussels authorities.
"But Nord Stream 2 already exists. The EU Commission should ensure that Nord Stream- 2 is used in accordance with EU rules. Russia doesn't like it. But these are the EU rules," Timmermans said.
“For the European Union as a whole, Nord Stream does not contribute to the security of supply,” Ditte Juul Jorgensen, Director General of the Commission’s energy department, told lawmakers in the European Parliament’s industry committee.
Investments over the last decade in other pipelines, liquefied natural gas import terminals and interconnectors in Europe have already secured enough supply to meet the bloc’s energy needs, she said. Any decision to halt the project would need to be made by Germany, Juul Jorgensen said.
“Actually stopping the construction would require a decision at the national level. It’s not a decision that can be taken at the European level,” she said.