Leading candidate to head European Commission says he would block Nord Stream 2
Reuters
Manfred Weber, to become the next president of the European Commission, told a Polish newspaper this week he would try to block construction of the controversial Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, . That puts Weber, who is German and member of the Conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), at odds with the German government, which supports the project. 鈥淚 am against this project. It is not in the interest of the European Union,鈥� . 鈥淎s the head of the European Commission, I will use all available laws to block Nord Stream 2.鈥� Weber is the candidate of the centre-right European People鈥檚 Party (EPP), the coalition in the European Parliament that includes Chancellor Angela Merkel鈥檚 conservative coalition (CDU/CSU).
The Nord Stream 2 project, spearheaded by Russian state energy company Gazprom and currently under construction under the Baltic Sea, would allow the delivery of additional Russian gas directly to Germany. Proponents argue the pipeline is key to securing Europe鈥檚 鈥� and Germany鈥檚 鈥� energy supply. Opponents, including the United States, some European countries and even politicians within Merkel鈥檚 CDU, have criticised the project on environmental, geopolitical and security grounds, and say the additional transmission capacity is not needed. The pipeline was scheduled to be completed this year, but Denmark recently for the project鈥檚 original route, likely delaying it.
