The US House of Representatives on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted to impose new sanctions against Russia. As expected, Moscow condemned the move. But why did the European Union also express concern?
German-Russia pipeline
The EU said it would act “within days” if its concerns over the supply of Russian energy to Europe were not addressed. The sanctions target any company that has anything to do with Russia’s energy export pipelines
The sanctions could affect a pipeline project between Russia and Germany known as Nord Stream 2, according to NYT. The project is undertaken by Russian gas company Gazprom but EU companies have financial stakes in it
Dependence on Russian energy
The new pipeline, roughly parallel to the existing Nord Stream 1, is being built to carry another 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, underscoring Europe’s continuing need for Russian energy. The pipeline aims to carry natural gas from Russia under the Baltic sea, the New York Times adds
Unilateral move?
From Paris to Berlin, the sanctions bill was also seen as a unilateral action by Washington that disrupts a carefully crafted order, according to AFP. To date, sanctions against Moscow have been coordinated on both sides of the Atlantic, to maintain a united front
Caspian pipeline spared
The EU does much more business with Russia than the US does. So, the 28-member-bloc is seeking assurance from Washington that, if passed, the sanctions would not be applied in a way that affects EU’s interests or energy companies
In an apparent concession to EU, the House modified a provision so that the bill only targets pipelines originating in Russia, sparing those merely passing through, such as the Caspian pipeline that carries oil from Kazakhstan to Europe