Sec. 2. Findings
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Congress finds the following: The Russian Federation is constructing a gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, named the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the completion of which could address potential increases in European energy consumption but also increase European dependence on Russian energy and have destabilizing effects on the Government of Ukraine if Ukraine loses energy transit fees as a result of construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. According to experts, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline would transport 80 percent of Russia’s current gas exports to Europe through one single pipeline system, which would run counter to the European Union energy policy of energy security and diversification of supply.
Section 257(a) of the Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act of 2017 ( Public Law 115–44 ; 22 U.S.C. 9546(a) ) states in part that it is the policy of the United States— to work with European Union member states and European Union institutions to promote energy security through developing diversified and liberalized energy markets that provide diversified sources, suppliers, and routes ; and to continue to oppose [the Nord Stream 2 pipeline] given its detrimental impacts on the European Union’s energy security, gas market development in Central and Eastern Europe, and energy reforms in Ukraine .
On January 27, 2018, then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated, [T]he United States opposes the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. We see it as undermining Europe’s overall energy security and stability… . Tillerson further stated that the pipeline would allow Putin to use energy as a political tool . On March 11, 2018, German chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged political and strategic concerns regarding the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and stated that the pipeline is not just an economic project, but that, of course, political factors must also be taken into account .
Gazprom, a Russian energy company, is controlled by the Government of the Russian Federation, which, according to the European Commission’s Statement of Objections to Gazprom dated April 22, 2015, has undertaken efforts to use gas as a weapon of coercion. The Department of State, led by the Bureau of Energy of Resources, has worked extensively with allies, including Denmark, to thwart such Russian efforts.
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