/ world today news/ Russia is trying to secure Italy’s support for the expansion of the Nord Stream project, La Stampa wrote in an article cited by RT on Tuesday (January 12). According to the Italian publication, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to discuss the possibility of Rome joining the project.
The Italian newspaper noted that Putin saw Italy as a possible partner to overcome some of the differences in the EU on the matter. Many European countries are negative about the project for three reasons. First of all, it increases Europe’s energy dependence on Russia. Secondly, it makes it possible to supply gas to Europe by bypassing Ukraine. And thirdly, the EC is against Nord Stream 2, because at the moment only the German side actually participates in it, and the minor shares of Austria and the Netherlands are not enough to remove these objections.
Thus, Russia hopes that the participation of the Italians will remove these obstacles. In addition, it was Renzi in December last year who turned to the European Commission with a request to check whether Germany’s participation in Nord Stream 2 complies with European norms. Italy then became “one of the main actors in the all-important energy game,” La Stampa wrote.
The newspaper notes that Italian participation in the project fully meets the country’s interests. In 2015, it managed to raise its head from the crisis and the consumption of natural gas in it increased by 15%. In 2016, it will rise even more, but the production of blue fuel in the country is decreasing, since the development of new deposits in the country is prohibited for environmental reasons. “If the gas is not produced in Italy and does not flow through South Stream (which was terminated), then participation in Nord Stream 2 comes to the rescue,” the publication writes.
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