The European Commission said, on Thursday 22 July, that it has taken note of the agreement between Germany and the United States on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, while reiterating its position that it is not a project of European interest.
Announced the day before, the agreement aims to limit the risk that Russia could use Nord Stream 2 - intended to link Germany to Russia, without passing through Ukraine - as a geopolitical lever against Kiev.
“Should Russia attempt to use energy as a weapon or commit further aggressive acts against Ukraine, Germany will take action at the national level and press for effective measures at the European level, including sanctions, to limit Russian export capabilities to Europe in the energy sector, including gas, and/or in other economically relevant sectors”, says the Joint Statement published on the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.
And to add: “This commitment is designed to ensure that Russia will not misuse any pipeline, including Nord Stream 2, to achieve aggressive political ends by using energy as a weapon”.
Germany also intends to establish and manage a “Green Fund for Ukraine”, which it will fund with an initial donation of $175 million. The objective: to support investments of at least $1 billion in favour of the energy transition (via, in particular, the development of hydrogen and the exit from coal), energy efficiency and energy security in Ukraine.
Berlin also pledged to “use all available leverage” to facilitate an extension of the agreement to transit Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine for up to 10 years. This agreement expires in 2024.
Among the means envisaged, Germany plans to appoint a special envoy to support future Russia-Ukraine negotiations, with dedicated funding of $70 million.
The Joint Statement also reaffirms Berlin’s support for the key principles of the EU’s third energy package, namely diversity and security of energy supply. Welcoming this commitment, the European Commission said that the issue of Nord Stream 2 will be discussed further with the Member States and Ukraine.
Reaction from Ukraine and Poland
Issuing a Joint Statement on the day the German-US deal was announced, the Ukrainian and Polish Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba and Zbigniew Rau, said the current proposals “cannot be considered sufficient to effectively limit the threats created by Nord Stream 2”.
And to add: “Ukraine and Poland will work together with their allies and partners to oppose Nord Stream 2 until solutions are developed to address the security crisis created by Nord Stream 2”.
Mr Kuleba also announced that notes had already been sent to the Commission and Berlin to start formal consultations regarding the pipeline.
See the Joint Statement by Germany and the US: https://bit.ly/3ByHMwK
See the Joint Statement by Poland and Ukraine: https://bit.ly/2UCV5LN (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)