Saturday, December 18, 2021
New sanctions possible
US Senate will vote on Nord Stream 2 in January
The transatlantic dispute over Nord Stream 2 is entering a new round. Republican Ted Cruz pushed through a Senate vote that could bring new sanctions into effect on the controversial gas pipeline. But Cruz gives up a blockade elsewhere.
The US Senate will vote again in January on possible sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Republican Senator Ted Cruz pushed through the vote. In return, he ends his blockade on several personnel decisions by the government of US President Joe Biden, such as the news portal “The Hill” reported.
The compromise between Cruz and the majority leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, was therefore concluded in a nightly meeting. The vote should take place before January 14th. A majority of 60 votes is required to pass the sanctions. There are currently 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans in the Senate. In the event of a stalemate, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris decides.
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project between Russia and Germany has long met with sharp criticism in the USA. Washington sees this as a further step towards making Europe dependent on Russian energy supplies. Observers point out, however, that the US is also trying to sell its own gas in Europe.
US President Biden and then Chancellor Angela Merkel actually settled the long-standing dispute over Nord Stream 2 in the summer. President Biden suspended the existing sanctions against the project. In return, Germany undertook to protect the interests of Ukraine, through which a large part of Russian gas supplies to Western Europe have so far passed. In Washington’s eyes, however, working out the details of the agreement is proceeding too slowly.
Pressure against troop deployment
In addition, there was criticism of Biden’s relenting, especially among the Republicans. Senator Cruz repeatedly called for sanctions against Russia. To put pressure on the US government, he blocked the Senate’s approval for dozens of US government candidates for government and embassy posts. Should Cruz’s law be passed by the Senate in January, Biden could not simply override it.
Nord Stream 2 is completed. However, the operating permit is still missing. The relevant procedure by the German authorities is currently on hold for formal reasons. According to the Federal Network Agency, there will be no final decision on this before summer.
The gas pipeline has recently been mentioned again and again as a means of exerting pressure against the Russian troop deployment on the border with Ukraine. Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck recently did not rule out the gas pipeline being stopped in the event of an escalation of the situation. “Another question is what happens if Russia continues to violate the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the situation escalates,” he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. Any further military aggression could not be without severe consequences. “There can be no prohibition of thinking.” According to Habeck, the pipeline has always been a geopolitical mistake. “All European countries, except Germany and Austria, were always against it.” On the other hand, Chancellor Olaf Scholz had spoken out against combining the operating permit for the pipeline and the deployment of Russian troops.