The European Parliament has voted for a resolution condemning the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as a threat to European energy security and urging to cancel the project. Since the resolution was non-binding, EU states can safely ignore its provisions.
Berlin’s stance on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project remains unchanged following the EU parliament’s resolution, which was adopted on 13 December, a German government official told Sputnik. The official stressed that the pipeline is an economy-based project, although admitted that it has a political dimension.
“The German position remains unchanged. Nord Stream 2 is first of all an economic project, which the German government has repeatedly stressed. But there is a political aspect to the project as well”, the official said.
Additionally, Berlin underscored the importance of clarity on the issue of Ukraine remaining a gas transit county after 2019, when the Nord Stream 2 pipeline goes live.
Earlier, Finland also stated that its position on the Nord Stream 2 project remained unchanged in light of the EU parliament’s resolution. A Finnish government counsellor at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, told Sputnik that the pipeline is a “large-scale project” that affects international “energy supply issues”.
The European Parliament voted on 13 December to adopt a non-binding resolution calling for the Nord Stream 2 project to be cancelled. The resolution praised Ukraine’s role as a transit state for energy resources and labelled the new Russian pipeline as “a political project that poses a threat to European energy security”.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has lambasted the European Parliament’s resolution as politically motivated, adding that it has nothing to do with the economy. The ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that attempts to curb energy cooperation between Russia and the EU is “crazy for Europe, which needs energy resources.”
Sourse: sputniknews.com
