Russia’s Izvestia interviewed several German members of the Bundestag, who warned of dire consequences should Nord Stream 2 be canceled because of the alleged Russian poisoning of Alexey Navalny. In addition, the representative from Nord Stream 2 AG warned that should sanctions be imposed on the project, it “will jeopardize EU12 billion in investments in the EU’s energy infrastructure” which was built to deliver gas from Nord Stream 2 to gas markets throughout Europe. He further stated that given the difficult global economic situation triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, suspension of the project would block almost EU700 million of investments currently allocated for the completion of the pipeline.
CDU parliamentarian Manfred Grund, admitted to Izvestia that Chancellor Angela Merkel is now facing “a lot of heat.” Klaus Ernst, head of the Bundestag Economic Affairs and Energy Committee, warned that Nord Stream 2 is a private-sector project, approved long ago and almost completed. If it is halted, German and European companies will suffer “colossal damage.” European consumers will be the first to suffer from the pipeline’s suspension, said Steffen Kotre, head of the Energy Committee. They would end up paying higher prices from other countries, primarily the U.S.
