America warns Europe regarding its Russian Gas Dependence

World News Rudolph Rodriquez
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Vice President Joe Biden warned the European countries not to become too dependent on Russian oil and gas, saying that this would be “bad” for Europe. Biden was referring to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in which natural gas from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea would be supplied.

According to Biden, the pipeline would be a “fundamentally bad deal for Europe”.

The US Vice President added that Europe needs diverse sources of gas, and not a Nord Stream 2 project. Biden’s comments came after a meeting with the Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven in Stockholm.

Without mentioning the names of Russia, the Vice President noted that Moscow interrupted several times the gas supply to Ukraine, during the winter, amid various disputes.

“No country should be able to use energy as a weapon in relation to other countries,” said Biden.

The European Union is trying to reduce its dependence on Russian gas.

According to the European Commission, the Nord Stream pipelines 2 are likely to focus 80% of EU imports of Russian gas over one route. The Commission now investigates whether the project complies with the European legislation. Biden noted that all EU countries can now access liquefied natural gas in the US if they wish.

Nord Stream is a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. Nord Stream links the Russian port of Vyborg to the German port of Greifswald, on a distance of 1,200 kilometers under the Baltic Sea. The pipeline is operational since 2011 and has an annual capacity of 27.5 billion cubic meters, while the second line, parallel to the first, which was ready in 2012, allows doubling the quantities carried at 55 billion cubic meters.