Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Monday released a statement with his counterparts from a slew of European countries opposing the deal that the U.S. and Germany reached in July to allow the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
In July, the Biden administration announced that it had reached an agreement with Germany to allow for the construction of the Russian-made Nord Stream 2 pipeline that will deliver natural gas to Europe, despite having previously expressed strong opposition to the pipeline as a security threat and imposed sanctions.
The agreement includes investments in helping Ukraine become energy independent from Russia as well as commitments from Germany to confront Russia on any misuse of the pipeline.
“We, the Chairs of Foreign Affairs Committees of our respective national parliaments, continue to oppose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project and with regret note the recent decision of the United States and Germany on Nord Stream 2, which entails resuming completion of the pipeline,” the statement read.
The chairmen stated that they saw the pipeline as a “geopolitical project” aimed at expanding Russia’s influence in the European energy market and a tool that could be used to blackmail and pressure Ukraine.
“The EU and United States must work together to increase sanctions pressure on the Kremlin to counter aggression in Ukraine,” they wrote.
The officials warned that the development of the pipeline would likely result in an undermining of the “development of a single, liberalized, and open European market” by working against alternative investments.
“We expect a clear commitment from Germany to reduce dependency on gas imported from Russia and move towards green energy,” they said.
“We insist that any further agreements on Nord Stream 2 necessitate consultations across the transatlantic family. Moreover, such diplomacy should happen with the fundamental principle in mind – countering malign Russian aggression is in all of NATO’s, all EU members, and our partners in Central and Eastern Europe vital national security interests,” the chairmen wrote.
The statement was signed by the chairmen of the Foreign Affairs committees in Estonia, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Lithuania.