Polish Prime Minister: There is no hope of stopping Nord Stream 2
In an interview with Interia, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki spoke about the obstacles faced by European countries that do not want the construction of Nord Stream 2.
“Two powerful countries, one of which is a world power, Russia, and the other, Germany, the fourth economy of the world, decided to build a gas pipeline. These are two powerful States and… it is not easy to prohibit them from doing something. We believe that it contradicts European rules. It is egoistic activity. We also believe that it contradicts security guarantees for this part of the world: for Ukraine and Poland,” Morawiecki said.
“We need allies that will seriously raise the question [of the need to construct the gas pipeline],” the Prime Minister stressed.
The strategic impossibility of stopping Nord Stream 2 was also recognized by Naftogaz of Ukraine. Director for Business Development Yuriy Vitrenko stated in November 2018 that the main obstacle is “direct corruption” by which German authorities and many European countries support the construction of the gas pipeline. He stressed that the gas transit through Ukraine could be stopped completely if the gas pipeline is put into operation.
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will be laid under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. The investors of the project are Shell, Engie, OMV, Wintershell and Uniper. The pipeline is designed to carry 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year and it costs €9.5 billion to build. According to the survey conducted by the sociological institute Forsa, 73% of German citizens support the construction of Nord Stream 2.
Apart from Poland and Ukraine, the USA is also against the construction of the gas pipeline. In January, German media revealed US Department of State threats to impose sanctions against the European companies Allseas and Saipem that are contractors of the project.