Russia's German economy has sharply condemned US sanctions against companies in connection with the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline. The head of the German-Russian Chamber of Foreign Trade (AHK), Matthias Schepp, described the measures as a strike against energy security in Europe and called on the Federal Government to take countermeasures. "We should respond to sanctions that are damaging Europe with counter-sanctions," said Schepp on Thursday night in Moscow. He responded immediately to a decision by the House of Representatives in Washington to punish the pipeline with punitive measures.
"It is time for Berlin and Brussels to take a clear political position and respond with targeted countermeasures," said Schepp. Europe's energy independence is at stake here. Nord Stream 2 increases energy security in Europe and ensures favorable energy prices compared to the more expensive American liquefied natural gas (LNG). The US wanted to use the sanctions to promote the sale of LNG to Europe, criticized Schepp.
"Germany needs cheap energy prices to compete with its energy-intensive industries in global competition," said Schepp. He dismissed too high a dependency on Russian gas in Germany as a "pseudo-argument". The EU undoubtedly depended less on Russian gas than Russia on foreign exchange receipts for Russian gas destined for the EU. However, the sanctions would not affect Russia, but primarily European companies and German energy interests.
The 2002 US Defense Budget Measures against Nord Stream 2 and the Turkish Stream Pipeline, which is moving from southern Russia to Turkey, target companies whose ships lay pipelines on the seafloor. Top managers deploying special purpose vessels for Nord Stream 2 threatened, among other things, with entry barriers and asset freezes, Schepp said.
Nord Stream 2 costs around ten billion euros. Half of the pipeline will be financed by the Russian energy giant Gazprom and five European companies OMV, Wintershall Dea, Engie, Uniper and Shell. More than 90 percent of the route has already been completed.
- For an analysis of the recent sanctions that the US House of Representatives has adopted, read: Showdown on the Baltic