BERLIN, June 16 German Chancellor Angela Merkel is concerned that proposed new US sanctions against Russian Federation could lead to fines against European companies, a government spokesman said on Friday, labelling the USA move "strange" and "peculiar". The measures targeted Russian energy projects.
In a joint statement, Austria's Chancellor Christian Kern and Germany's Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said it was important for Europe and the United States to form a united front on the issue of Ukraine, where Russian-based separatists have been fighting government forces since 2014. At the heart of their push-back is the planned expansion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline between Russian Federation and Germany. They called the bill a "new and very negative quality in the European-American relations".
"Political sanctions should not be mixed up with economic interests", they warned, stressing that "Europe's energy supply is Europe's business and not that of the United States".
Nord Stream has torn Europe apart already.
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Yesterday's vote by the US Senate to expand sanctions against Russian Federation into their energy sector is not sitting well with Germany and Austria, two nations which have a keen economic interest in ensuring Europe's energy supply, and who see the US sanctions as a threat to their national interests.
The United States in the past has cautioned its European allies against building the Nord Stream 2 project, saying it would increase European dependence on Russian energy supplies, but it hasn't previously attempted to interfere with plans to move the project forward.
If the legislation passes the House and survives any veto threats from President Donald Trump, it could be used against companies like Shell, Uniper, Wintershall, Engie, and OMV, which are teaming up with Gazprom, Russia's state-owned energy behemoth, to build the $10.6 billion pipe.
The Austrian and German officials said one motive behind the Senate bill may be an attempt to help American natural gas suppliers at the expense of their Russian rivals. "It is us who decide who will supply energy to us in accordance with the principles of openness and market competition", they stressed.
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