Nord Stream 2 is the successor to Nord Stream 1, a similar project. The pipeline is to bring Russian gas to Europe via northeastern Germany. The gas pipeline was built by the Russian state giant Gazprom, together with Western companies Uniper, Wintershall, Engie, OMV and Shell.
The pipeline is ready – gas started filling up last month – but not yet operational.
The pipeline is geopolitically very sensitive because it would make Europe too dependent on Russia. The United States has long been strongly against Nord Stream 2 because it fears that Russia would use the increased gas supply as a geopolitical lever. In addition, the US itself wants to sell shale gas to Europe.
Nord Stream 2 is also controversial because it goes by sea and bypasses national borders. As a result, countries such as Poland and especially Ukraine are missing out on a lot of transit income. Moreover, Russia has in the past used the gas supply as a political tool. With the Nord Stream 2 project in operation, Russia could turn off the gas on Ukraine without impacting the supply to Europe.
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