BRUSSELS, July 22 (Xinhua) – The European Commission said Thursday that the
Russia-Germany natural gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 is “not of common EU
interest,” but it is planning to discuss the agreement between the United
States and Germany among EU member states.
Tim McPhie, the European Commission spokesperson for climate action and
energy, said at a regular press briefing that the Commission intends to
discuss with the EU member states the details of the implementation of this
agreement, in a bid to ensure that any measures are well-coordinated in line
with the spirit of solidarity.
The United States and Germany announced on Wednesday an agreement on the issue
of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, an effort to reduce the risk that
the contentious project could pose to Ukraine. The United States had been
opposing the project since its inception in 2012, and imposed sanctions on the
pipeline in 2019.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is expected to be completed next month and would
bring 55 billion cubic meters of gas annually from Russia to Germany through
the Baltic Sea, almost doubling Germany’s gas import from Russia.
Ukraine is concerned that the Russia-Germany natural gas transport would
bypass the current pipeline running through the country, making it lose gas
transit fees and undermine Kiev’s strategic position when facing Russia.
McPhie said that Ukraine was a reliable transit country, adding that the EU
facilitated the current transit agreement that runs till 2024 and it stands
ready to facilitate discussion on prolongation of this agreement.
“At the same time, we are working intensively with Ukraine to support its
transition towards cleaner energy sources such as wind and solar as we do with
many countries in line with the European green deal,” he added. Enditem
