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Denmark Hesitating About Nord Stream 2 Over American Pressure

Denmark Hesitating About Nord Stream 2 Over American Pressure
Denmark Hesitating About Nord Stream 2 Over American Pressure

Last year, Denmark introduced a legislation that allows the country's government to restrict the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from going through Danish territorial waters due to security reasons or foreign policy issues.

Permission for the construction of the gas pipeline has been deliberately delayed by Danish authorities under pressure from the US, Sputnik cited several sources as saying.

"Apparently, Denmark is scared of disappointing its main ally Washington, which twists its partners' arms to force Russian gas out of the European market and fill it with  LNG," one of the sources said.  The source added that "at the same time, Copenhagen fears spoiling relations with Berlin, which supports the construction of Nord Stream 2 as a commercial project".

"So, a difficult situation remains in place in Denmark [as far as the Nord Stream 2 project is concerned]," the source said.

Speaking to the Russian newspaper Izvestia, Nord Stream AG Spokesman Jens Moeller recalled that Denmark remains the only country that has yet to give the go-ahead for the construction of the pipeline.

"We are still awaiting permission from Denmark in the next few months," Moeller said, referring to Germany, Finland and Sweden that have already issued such permissions.

In late November 2017, Copenhagen made special amendments to the country's legislation, which allows the government to reject the construction of pipelines in Danish territorial waters for security reasons pertaining to Denmark, the EU and NATO. Nord Stream 2 stipulates the construction of two gas pipelines running from the Russian coast north of St. Petersburg through  Baltic Sea to a hub in northeastern Germany.

The project is a joint venture of Russia's Gazprom with France's Engie, Austria's OMV AG, UK-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, as well as Germany's Uniper and Wintershall.

The pipeline, expected to become operational in 2019, aims to deliver 55 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas a year to the European Union across the Baltic Sea to Germany.

 

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