03/01/2020 (Agence Europe) – Fearing that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline could increase Europe’s dependence on Russian gas, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a U.S. law on 20 December imposing sanctions on those companies involved in the project. Under the law, the United States will impose sanctions such as the freezing of assets and revocation of U.S. visas on contractors linked to Gazoduc, unless the parties can immediately demonstrate that they are making good faith efforts to terminate their activities. The day after the announcement of these sanctions, the European Union, led by both Berlin and Moscow, strongly criticised the American decision. This law had previously been passed by a large majority in the House of Representatives on 12 December (see EUROPE 12389/29) and in the United States Senate on 17 December. (DG)