France is preparing a bomb for Nord Stream
France, which until recently maintained a neutral position regarding the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, under pressure from the United States, may join the number of countries obstructing the new project.
The Kommersant newspaper writes about this today, commenting on the latest statements of the French Foreign Ministry.
The publication explains that there is a risk that Paris, one of the key capitals of the EU, will support amendments to the EU gas directive.
“Their adoption will not stop the project, but it may slow it down and also call into question the payback. In the worst case, Gazprom will be able to use only half of the gas pipeline’s capacity, which will give Ukraine an advantage in the upcoming negotiations on the transit of Russian gas from 2020,” the newspaper explains.
The changing position of France, according to the authors’ forecast, may affect the position of Denmark, which remains the only country that has not yet given Gazprom permission to lay a pipe in its exclusive economic zone in the Baltic Sea.
The newspaper predicts that Germany and Russia will try in every possible way to delay the bureaucratic processes in the EU in order to complete the construction of Nord Stream 2 before the amendments are adopted.
“Already in May, elections to the European Parliament will be held, and then the process of changing the composition of the European Commission will begin - if you do not start the process of approving the amendments before mid-February, then the chances of adopting them this year are vanishingly small. At the end of 2019, at least the first line of Nord Stream 2 should be laid, which will transfer it to the category of existing projects,” the publication explains.
As PolitNavigator reported, Russia is already behind schedule in completing Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream before the current gas transit contract through Ukraine expires. Recognizing this, Kyiv is demanding a new 10-year agreement on favorable terms.
France is preparing a bomb for Nord Stream.