According to the news agency, Berlin is mulling over pushing for a coordinated EU action to challenge the US sanctions. The officials say that the German government believes that, despite the existing divide over the Russian pipeline, the EU27 should still collectively respond to the direct US interference in Europe’s energy interests.
One German official, at the same time, noted that any countermove should be carefully assessed, as US President Donald Trump amid the tightening election campaign can immediately implement his longtime threat to slap steep tariffs on the German car industry, Bloomberg reported.
In early June, US senators introduced a bipartisan bill that would expand sanctions on Nord Stream 2 to include all companies that provide certification, insurance, and port facilities for the project. Following this, the chairman of the German parliament's energy committee, Klaus Ernst, urged the government to prepare response measures.
Berlin has repeatedly rejected US extraterritorial measures that aim to disrupt the project, a joint venture of Russia's Gazprom and five European companies. The US sanctions pressure is backed by Poland, Baltic nations, and Ukraine.
In December, sanctions, included in the US' 2020 National Defence Authorization Act, forced Allseas, a Swiss company responsible for laying down the pipes, quit the project with just 100 miles of the pipeline left to lay. Russia is now finishing the pipeline on its own.