EU Commission and the German Government Condemn US Sanctions on Gas Pipeline

EU states are against any sanctions targeting its companies legally doing business, the EU Commission said, after the US rolled out a package of penalties against firms participating in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. “At the moment, the [European] Commission is studying the potential impact of these measures on European companies,” a spokesperson for the EU body was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies, as quoted by RT. Brussels opposes sanctions that affect European firms doing business according to the law, the official stressed. The statement comes just a day after US sanctions – meant to hamper construction of the Nord Stream 2 – came into force. The EU had made sure that the pipeline project was functioning “in a transparent and non-discriminatory” way – and these directives have been acknowledged by the US itself. Russia and Germany, two major stakeholders of the Nord Stream 2, have previously denounced the sanctions as well. The German government said Berlin rejected "these sorts of extra-territorial sanctions".      "They will hit German and European companies and constitute an interference in our internal affairs," said Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer.     Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Russia will continue to implement its economic projects despite sanctions, adding that the United States, by imposing sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream gas pipelines, is trying to deprive its European allies of a guaranteed supply of energy from Russia and to impose its liquefied gas.

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