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Senate Panel Backs Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Sanctions

Ostap Yarysh

   This story originated in [1]VOA's Ukrainian Service.Some information is
   from Reuters.

   WASHINGTON -- The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday
   approved legislation to sanction construction of the underwater Nord
   Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany.

   "Protecting Europe's Energy Security Act," which passed committee by a
   20-2 vote, reflects some lawmakers' concerns over Russian influence in
   Europe and would require passage in the Senate and House before being
   signed into law by President Donald Trump.

   The Trump administration has consistently voiced opposition to the
   development of Nord Stream 2, an offshore pipeline that would deliver
   Russian gas to Western Europe via the Baltic Sea.

   Expanding upon the existing Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which has been
   transporting gas from Russia to Germany along the same Baltic Sea route
   since 2011, Nord Stream 2 would roughly double Russia's export volume.

   In a rare example of political comity, U.S. legislators in both
   chambers largely support sanctions on Nord Stream 2 -- a companion bill
   passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee last month -- and Trump's
   opposition to the $11 billion, nearly 1,300-kilometer (800-mile)
   pipeline expansion is consistent with that of his immediate
   predecessor, former President Barack Obama, and former President George
   W. Bush, who opposed Nord Stream 1.

References

   1. http://ukrainian.voanews.com/

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