EU's Vestager takes firm stance against Nord Stream 2: press
European competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager has voiced criticism of Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline, telling Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper that the EU never considered the project to be in Europe's interest.
"We never considered Nord Stream 2 to be in the European interest," she said. "That was very clear during the initial planning."
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She noted that there were other gas pipelines to Europe that were not in use at all at present. The Yamal-Europe pipeline that usually flows Russian gas to Germany through Belarus and Poland has been operating in reverse since late December, owing to a recent slump in Gazprom's export volumes.
The European Commission has raised concerns that Nord Stream 2 may not be in Europe's political and economic interest, although it has previously avoided taking a firm stance against the pipeline. Vestager has served as European competition commissioner since 2014, and that year she launched a case against Gazprom, over antitrust concerns with its business practises. That case ended in 2018 with Gazprom agreeing to reform its pricing structure and do away restrictions in its supply contracts.