The leader of the European People's Party (EPP), Manfred Weber, said on Tuesday 23 April that he would try to stop the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project if he became President of the European Commission.
“I am against this project. It reinforces the EU's dependence on Russian gas rather than reducing it”, Weber told the Polish newspaper Polska The Times, whereas the German government is in favour of the project.
That is why, as President of the European Commission, Mr Weber intends to use all legal instruments, including the new directive that has just been approved, “to explore all ways to stop Nord Stream 2”, insisted the leader of the EPP group.
“Thinking about it with a European spirit, it is clear that we need more independence from Russian gas”, adds the candidate for Jean-Claude Juncker's succession. More than 800 kilometres of the 1,200 km planned between Russia and Germany have already been built.
This highly controversial gas pipeline project is managed by the Russian giant Gazprom and is intended to transport gas from Russia to Germany.
The new gas market directive, which has just been formally adopted by the Council of the EU, should provide a better framework for this project. Under the new rules, all pipelines from non-Member States, including Nord Stream 2, will have to comply with EU rules (see EUROPE 12236/9).
Nord Stream 2 wants to bypass the new directive. In addition, the company managing the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project is threatening to sue the EU if it is not allowed to have a derogation under the new gas market directive.
In a letter to Commission President Juncker, Nord Stream 2's Director General Matthias Warnig explains that if the pipeline is not eligible for a derogation from the new rules, “the measure would be discriminatory against Nord Stream 2 as an investor” and the EU could breach an international treaty.
Nord Stream 2 argues that it could obtain a waiver for pipelines already “completed” when the new directive comes into force this summer. Nord Stream 2 wishes to be treated in the same way as other comparable projects.
Already sensitive to Europeans, where it faces strong opposition from Eastern European countries led by Poland, the issue has taken on a new dimension since the United States has been conducting an intense campaign of opposition to Nord Stream 2. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)