Senatorial Group Urged Biden to Impose Sanctions against Nord Stream 2

They recalled that Congress passed several sanctions laws against the project. A group of 40 senators led by Republican John Barrasso of Wyoming sent a letter to President Joe Biden, criticizing his administration for refusing to impose sanctions on organizations involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline will transport natural gas from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea. If completed, senators believe the pipeline would make American allies and partners in Europe more vulnerable to Moscow's malign influence. In their letter, the senators emphasize that Congress has passed several bipartisan legislations providing for sanctions against this project. Lawmakers are asking the Biden administration to use all the tools at its disposal to immediately impose additional sanctions, especially the latest round, which both houses of Congress urgently and repeatedly approved last year. “We are writing to express our deep concern over the administration’s refusal to impose sanctions on organizations participating in the Nord Stream 2 project,” the senators wrote. They noted that there is publicly available information about the courts and companies that are involved in activities subject to the sanctions. "The administration's failure to define and impose new sanctions indicates its willingness to allow President Putin to establish stifling control over gas supplies to Europe and increase geopolitical influence," the senators said. “We urge the administration to correct these mistakes by quickly and fully implementing the sanctions provided for by US law,” they stressed. The petition, in particular, was signed by Ted Cruz from Texas, Chuck Grassley from Iowa, Mitt Romney from Utah, Marco Rubio from Florida, Ben Sass from Nebraska and others. All signatories are Republicans. The European Energy Security Protection Act passed by Congress provides for sanctions against companies and individuals participating in the Nord Stream 2 project. The law requires sanctions against organizations that install pipes, participate in pipe-laying work, or insure or certify the installation. But the law leaves concrete actions and their timeframes to the discretion of the president. President Biden called the pipeline a "bad deal" for Europe and reserved the right to take action in the future at any time of his choice. Meanwhile, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Thursday that new sanctions against participants in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline could be introduced as early as May. On February 23, the State Department announced that only one organization had been added to the list: the Russian company KBT-Rus, which is laying pipes for Nord Stream 2. The company owns the Russian pipe-laying vessel Fortuna, which is involved in the construction of the gas pipeline. “Of course, this is not the end of the story. Every 90 days, we are required to provide Congress with an update on identified ... activities that are subject to sanctions in the context of North Stream 2, "Ned Price recalled." If we ... determine that other organizations are involved in such activities, we will report this to Congress." Price said the next report on Nord Stream 2 will be presented to Congress in May. During a press briefing, Price said that Washington "is well aware of the threat that Russia poses", which seeks to increase its influence, including in regions that are far from Russian borders. However, at the same time, according to a spokesman for the State Department, the level of threats posed to the United States from China is still higher. Russia, as Price said, "does not have the ability and ... is not capable of throwing the same challenge as China."