Sanctions on Nord Stream will extinguish any potential interest in this project

Currently, the gas connection between Russia and Germany is not operational, but Nord Stream 1 can be repaired, and a license can be obtained for Nord Stream 2; EU sanctions will extinguish any potential interest in these pipelines in the future – said European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho on Friday.

Pinho in Brussels referred to the 18th sanctions package announced earlier by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, which is to include a ban on the operation of Nord Stream 1 (NS1) and Nord Stream 2 (NS2).

“Why sanction something that is not working today anyway? Because we never know what might happen in the future,” Pinho said in response to a question about the logic behind imposing current restrictions.

After the Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022, Germany decided that NS2, which was completed at that time, would not be launched at all. Berlin then suspended the certification of the new pipeline, meaning it did not receive approval to operate.

As for NS1, Russia itself stopped supplying gas through it in August 2022.

Pinho reminded that a few weeks later, an explosion occurred that damaged both strings of NS1 and one of the two strings of NS2. In January of this year, Denmark granted permission to repair the damaged string of NS2 to prevent gas leakage.

The company based in Switzerland that built the pipeline and was supposed to manage it is wholly owned by the Russian company Gazprom. Last week, a Swiss court announced that the consortium had reached an agreement with its creditors and agreed to restructure. This way, it avoided bankruptcy.

“NS1 can be repaired. NS2 can theoretically be licensed. So the idea is to discourage any interested parties, especially investors, from continuing any activities related to the pipeline in the future,” Pinho emphasized.

Commission President von der Leyen also announced on Friday that the EC would propose lowering the price cap on Russian oil. The current limit of $60 per barrel was agreed upon within the G7, which also includes the United States. Lowering the price at which Russia can sell oil on global markets is expected to further reduce revenues to the Russian budget.

When asked whether the USA agrees to lower the price cap for Russian oil, the EC spokesperson replied that the Union will cooperate with international partners on this issue.

Pinho also added that the announcement of the 18th sanctions package is a realization of the announcement made on May 10 in Kyiv by European leaders, including Prime Minister Donald Tusk. At that time, the leaders threatened sanctions if Russia rejected their proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine.

As the EC spokesperson noted, although Russian leader Vladimir Putin rejected the call to cease hostilities, the Union held back on announcing the next package in connection with the meeting in Istanbul, which Putin proposed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but then did not attend. “Therefore, today we announce further pressure,” she said.

Among the proposals mentioned by von der Leyen were also restrictions on the Russian financial sector and adding more Russian ships to the blacklist that transport oil as part of the so-called shadow fleet, helping Russia sell it at prices higher than the limit imposed by the West.

Next week, the foreign ministers of EU countries are expected to finally approve the 17th sanctions package. This will be the second package negotiated during Poland’s presidency in the EU Council. (05.16.2025)