The Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project may be scrapped before it even goes online and should have not been built in the first place, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck told the Tagesthemen TV program on Tuesday.
Habeck was commenting on Berlin’s move to punish Russia for the recognition of the two breakaway Donbass republics as sovereign states. Nord Stream 2 had been in the crosshairs of both Kiev and Washington long before the ongoing escalation of tensions over Ukraine, and, on Tuesday, Germany suspended its certification. Consecutive US administrations have sought to put a stop to the project, claiming it to be political rather than economic in nature.
The minister, a member of the fossils-skeptic pro-NATO Green Party, argued that the latest events had proven the US assertion to be correct. He said the EU’s response to the situation should be coordinated with that of the US.
It is “of central importance that Europe and the USA proceed as one,” Habeck said, adding that neither side should “undercut sanctions” against Russia.