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Polish Briefing 10 January, 2019 9:00 am   
COMMENTS: Mateusz Gibała

Polish Briefing: Germany “deprived” EU institutions in the case of Nord Stream 2

What goes on in Poland on the 10th of January.

The criticism doesn’t come into force

– Currently stoping Nord Stream 2 effectively is possible only through US sanctions. Unfortunately, Germany “deprived” EU institutions in this matter – said MEP Zdzisław Krasnodębski in a statement for the portal BiznesAlert.pl.

– Nord Stream 2 is sometimes criticized by German politicians, including those sitting in the European Parliament. On several occasions, Manfred Weber from the CDU-CSU spoke critically about this investment, or the long-term former chairman of the foreign affairs committee in Elmar Brok, unfortunately none of this criticism came into force- said the MEP to BusinessAlert.pl.

Only US sanctions can stop Nord Stream 2

– What Germany is now proposing, namely Russia’s obligation to send gas through Ukrainian gas pipelines, following the creation of Nord Stream 2, is a kind of attempt to find a “fig leaf” so that ultimately the EU institutions do not interrupt this investment – although it was really “washing their hands” in this matter – said Krasnodębski in an interview with BiznesAlert.pl.

The MEP feels that even if the agreement on minimum gas supplies through Ukrainian pipelines is signed, then Russia would break the old pretext and there are many examples from recent years that Moscow is capable of: – An example was the cessation of oil supplies to the Polish refinery in Lithuania, under the pretext of the need to modernize the pipeline, or blocking gas supplies through Ukraine, under the pretext of arrears in payments, even in a situation where it meant lack of supplies to Slovakia, the Czech Republic or Austria – Krasnodębski reminded. – In this situation, blocking Nord Stream 2 effectively is now possible only through US sanctions.