Brussels, 18/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - The project Nord Stream 2 to double the capacity of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which has connected Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea since 2012, caused a lively debate at the European Council on Friday 18 December. Central to the exchanges was the issue of the energy independence of the EU, which would be seriously hampered if the project came to fruition.
Without openly lining up against Nord Stream 2, the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, referred to the figures provided by the European Commission, stating that the project would increase the Union's dependence on Gazprom, supplies from which would represent 80% of Russian gas imported. Similarly, he went on, Gazprom's market share in Germany would be increased to 60%.
A number of countries, such as Italy and Bulgaria, questioned the justification for Nord Stream 2, given that the South Stream gas pipeline project was abandoned following a decision of the European Commission in late 2014 (see EUROPE 11217).
This position is shared by other countries, according to a diplomatic source, among them Slovakia, the Czech Republic and, more generally, the countries of the Visegrad group. The Baltic states, which are looking at the project from a geopolitical angle rather than a commercial one, are also singing from this hymn sheet. Angela Merkel, for whom the project is purely commercial, defended herself on this point.
During the debate, Merkel is also reported to have reminded the Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, that the South Stream project was abandoned because the Commission felt that it was incompatible with the principle of energy diversification under the third energy package.
“The arguments (of the German Chancellor) failed to win over the project's opponents”, according to one diplomatic source, who referred to another aspect of the dossier, the fact that Ukraine, hitherto the transit company for Russian gas, stands to lose from the construction of Nord Stream 2. A hot topic in view of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the rapprochement process between the Ukraine and the European Union, as demonstrated, for instance, by the free-trade agreement (see EUROPE 11456).
Compliance with EU law. Rather than resolving this issue, the member states made reference to the legal aspect. “Any new infrastructure must fully comply with the third legislative package on energy and any other European legislation applicable, and with the objectives of the Energy Union”, Tusk said. He went on to stress that it would be up to the European Commission to decide upon a position on the Nord Stream 2 project following a detailed analysis with regard to EU law. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)