The reason for this is the imprisonment of the Russian opposition politician Navalny and the crackdown on his supporters.
Against the background of the arrest of the Russian opposition politician Alexej Navalny and the action against his supporters, France supports the stop of the Nord Stream 2 gas project. France's European Secretary of State Clément Beaune said on Monday on France Inter when asked whether he was in favor of giving up Nord Stream 2 : “Indeed, we have already said that.”
Sanctions are not enough
Beaune said that sanctions had already been imposed, but that was not enough. Regarding other possible consequences, he added that the Baltic Sea pipeline was an option to consider. “We have always said that in this context we have the greatest doubts about this project.” However, Beaune made it clear: “This is a German decision today.”
In addition to France, other EU countries are rejecting the natural gas project, which OMV is also involved in financing. The European Parliament recently voted for an immediate stop to Nord Stream 2. The German government, however, is sticking to the gas pipeline.
Most of it completed
According to the Russian energy company Gazprom, the main investor in Nord Stream 2, 94 percent of the line has already been completed. It consists of two strings, each around 1,230 kilometers long, and should be able to transport 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia to Germany per year.
