New Sanctions May Be Imposed against Nord Stream 2

Sanctions provisions introduced into defense policy bill The annual US defense policy bill includes provisions on sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline construction, two congressional aides said on Wednesday. The sanctions, stipulated by the compromise bill of the Senate and the House of Representatives, will affect companies assisting the construction, including ships, as well as companies providing insurance or secondary insurance for construction and pipeline certification in Denmark. The bill will become law only after it is passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the president. The Nord Stream 2 project, which is run by Gazprom Russian state energy company, will double the capacity of a previously laid pipeline that carries gas to Europe via Germany. Gazprom and Germany insist that the project is purely commercial in nature. Gas demand in Germany is growing as it reduces dependence on nuclear and coal energy. The Trump administration and bipartisan lawmakers believe the pipeline will increase Russian President Vladimir Putin’s economic and political influence in Europe. The Trump administration is also supporting increased LNG exports to Europe. Sanctions supporters hope these measures will prevent Gazprom from using the Russian pipe-lay vessel Akademik Chersky to complete the last 160-kilometer section of the pipeline in Danish waters. The deal, which was first reported by Bloomberg, includes language from an earlier bill pioneered by Democrat Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Senator Ted Cruz. A spokesman for the operator of the project, Jens Müller, said that the company has not yet evaluated the details of the bill, but expects that Cruz and Shаheen’s initiative will directly or indirectly affect about 120 companies from more than 12 European countries. “It is up to governments and the European Commission to protect European companies from illegal extraterritorial sanctions,” he said. The bill also includes a proposal by Congressman Eliot Engel to notify allies before imposing sanctions. Engel, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, opposes Nord Stream 2, but warns that sanctions could hit European companies harder than Russia.