The European Parliament today adopted a resolution calling for the EU to prevent completion of Russian state-controlled Gazprom's 55bn m³/yr Nord Stream 2 gas project.
The resolution comes ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers on 25 January that will also discuss the detention, by Russian authorities, of opposition politician Alexei Navalny. Parliament's cross-party motion calls on the EU and member states to critically review co-operation with Russia on "projects such as Nord Stream 2, the completion of which the EU must stop immediately".
EU sanctions are decided by EU member states under the unanimity rule. But parliament has influenced energy policy reforms to subject the pipeline to EU market rules when passing through the region's territory, notably with regard to third-party access and unbundling.
In its resolution, parliament also urged EU member states to introduce sanctions against "Russian oligarchs related to the regime and members of President Putin's inner circle". The EU should "no longer be a welcoming place for Russian wealth of unclear origin", parliament said.
"We cannot prevent the companies from building it if the German government agrees. Should these companies finalise a pipeline, they should know that they will need to operate in line with EU law. But this is the most we can do at EU level," EU foreign affairs high representative Josep Borrell told members of parliament.
The adopted resolution was supported by several prominent German members, aligned with the governing coalition that has traditionally favoured restrictive measures against Russian officials rather than outright economic sanctions.
Borrell indicated that EU foreign affairs ministers would decide on any further listings for individual sanctions following Navalny's detention. The EU in October 2020 imposed asset freezes and visa bans for the assassination attempt on Navalny and six security officers, including the director of Russia's federal security service.
"Anyone who still believes that we should continue with Nord Stream 2 is blind for what kind of regime we are dealing with in Moscow," Dutch Social and Democrats party member Kati Piri said.
US president Joe Biden's administration opposes completion of Nord Stream 2 but has yet to decide how to apply revised sanctions against it in deference to objections raised by Germany.
The outgoing US administration under Donald Trump on 19 January imposed sanctions on Russian-flagged pipe-laying barge Fortuna, and its owner KVT-RUS, for laying pipes for Nord Stream 2. The US extra-territorial sanctions also expose EU port authorities, insurance providers and other firms, but not EU governments or agencies doing business with the Fortuna, to US criminal and financial penalties.
The European Commission recently referred to US extra-territorial sanctions, not only over Nord Stream 2 but also Iran, in new policy aimed at finding ways to counteract "unlawful" sanctions.
