The Nord Stream 2 project for a gas pipeline from Russia to Germany is contrary to the European interests, and may have counterproductive effects on the European energy security, the members of the EU Parliament said in a statement Tuesday, Sputnik reports.
"Doubling the capacity of the Nord Stream pipeline could have counterproductive effects on energy security, the diversification of supply sources and solidarity among member states, say MEPs… If, contrary to European interests, Nord Stream 2 were to be built, this would necessarily require a sound assessment of LNG [Liquefied Natural Gas] terminals’ accessibility and a detailed assessment of the North-South Gas Corridor, to be able to compensate for shutting down the supply lines to Central and Eastern Europe," the statement, issued after the EU Parliament plenary session, read.
The EU parliamentarians stressed the importance of existing LNG terminals and gas storage facilities, in particular, in reducing dependence on Russian gas. They called for a better management of domestic gas infrastructure, as well as for improved regional cooperation in order to avoid "internal bottlenecks."
