BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — The European Commission does not see any commercial logic in the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline when Nord Stream capacities are available, European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Canete said Thursday.
Canete said Nord Stream-2 does not enhance the security of supplies to the European Union because the supplier and the gas source are the same, so there is no logic in duplication of capacities from the commercial viewpoint.
The start of the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline is planned for 2018. It aims to deliver up to 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia to Germany annually via the Baltic Sea. Russian energy giant Gazprom has a shareholder agreement to extend the existing Nord Stream with partner European energy firms.