EU MPs demand halt of Nord Stream 2 to pressure Russia

EU legislators have reacted to Russia’s arrest of blogger Alexei Navalny by passing a resolution demanding a halt to the completion of the Moscow-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that carries Russian natural gas to Europe.

European Parliament members on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to block the construction of the critical pipeline for the energy-hungry continent, with 581 votes in favor, 50 against and 44 abstentions, further urging the EU to review its ties with Moscow following Navalny’s detention on charges of violating his parole.

“The European Parliament ... calls on the EU and its member states to critically review cooperation with Russia in various foreign policy platforms and on projects such as Nord Stream 2, the completion of which the EU must stop immediately,” the resolution declared.

The resolution further called on the EU to “devise a new strategy for the EU’s relations with Russia", centered around support for Western-backed societies. 

However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- who has persistently supported the nearly completed pipeline project between Germany and Russia despite criticism by other EU members – insisted on Thursday that her view of the venture had not changed despite the Navalny case.

Germany’s regulator announced on Thursday it was awaiting details for objections against Nord Stream 2 after European environmental groups filed a challenge to its construction.

Nord Stream 2 is an offshore gas pipeline designed to double the capacity of the existing Nord Stream undersea gas pipeline linking Russia and Germany and to supply cheaper energy to Central European customers.

Under the agreement between Moscow and Berlin, it was to be launched in mid-2020, but the project has been delayed due to hurdles imposed by Washington.

US challenge

The Thursday development came a day after former US President Donald Trump imposed new sanctions on a Russian pipe-laying vessel involved in the multinational gas pipeline project on his last day in office.

US imposes sanctions on Russian pipe-laying vessel as Moscow censures American opportunism

Outgoing US President Donald Trump imposes new sanctions on a Russian pipe-laying vessel involved in the Moscow-led Nord Stream 2 multinational gas pipeline project on his last day in office.

The US Treasury Department announced on Tuesday the imposition of the sanctions on the Russian pipe-laying ship “Fortuna” and its owner, KVT-RUS, under the so-called Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

The same US law had been used previously to target numerous Russian officials and enterprises.

The move — which is also in line with the stated policy of the new administration of President Joe Biden — is meant to raise additional pressure on the massive project in the hope of selling American Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to European allies.

Washington has so far imposed several rounds of sanctions against the project over claims that it could undermine European energy security. It is commonly known, however, that the real aim of the US pressure is to force European countries to buy its LNG.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the project was under “unlawful” American pressure and that Moscow was closely monitoring developments in order to ensure the pipeline’s completion.

Biden has also opposed Nord Stream 2 in the past. His nominee to head the State Department, Antony Blinken, said during his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday that Biden strongly agreed with members of Congress that the pipeline is a “bad idea.”

Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Blinken said he will use “every persuasive tool” to stop the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and will work to convince European partners, including Germany, not to move forward with it.

The EU has previously expressed reservations about joining the Washington-led sanctions on Nord Stream 2, with its foreign policy chief Josep Borrell stating that the bloc will not resist the construction of the project.

“Because we’re talking about a private project, we can’t hamper the operations of those companies if the German government agrees to it,” Borrell said Tuesday.

Moscow, however, has assured its partners that it intends to complete the project despite “harsh pressure on the part of Washington,” according to Peskov.

More than 90 percent of the project has been completed, but more than 100 kilometers of pipes must still be laid in an area off Denmark that requires highly-specialized construction equipment.

Kremlin slams anti-Russia moves over Navalny

Shrugging off calls by some EU member nations for imposing new sanctions over Navalny’s arrest, Peskov insisted that the blogger’s arrest was a matter for the prison service to decide, and required no special intervention from the government.

Russia brushes off sanctions calls by West over Navalny detention

Russia rejects calls from the West to release opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who has returned to the country following recuperation in Germany from alleged poisoning.

In the wake of Navalny’s arrest, the US and several European counties have demanded his “immediate release,” with Moscow decrying continued Western interference in its internal affairs and calling on them to focus more on their own human rights and other issues instead. 

Russia has imposed sanctions against a number of European officials in a tit-for-tat move after the European Union adopted punitive measures against Moscow.

Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan called on Moscow to “immediately release” Navalny. Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the US had better to “deal with your domestic problems.”

“Have respect for international law, do not interfere with the national law of sovereign countries and deal with your own domestic problems,” she said in a Facebook post. 

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