Brussels reiterated its warning to Washington that scaled up sanctions on Russia risk a collision course.
On Wednesday, the President of the European Commission
Jean-Claude Juncker used the phrase of a note leaked earlier this week,
affirming that Brussels is ready to retaliate against Washington
“within days” if sanctions target European interests, CNN reports.
President’s Juncker was reacting to a
sanctions bill passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday, in
retaliation to the alleged meddling of the Kremlin with the 2016
elections. The bill also scales up sanctions against Iran and North
Korea. While drafting the bill, there was no consultation with the EU or
NATO member states.
On Thursday evening, the Senate approved the bill.
The main concern in Brussels is that
sanction could hurt the development of the Nord Stream II project, that
is, a Russian pipeline that will supply Western Europe via the Baltic
Sea. Besides Russia’s Gazprom, the project engages
German, Austrian, and Dutch partners. The President of the European
Commission cautioned Washington that sanctions could affect EU energy
security, making clear that “America first cannot mean that Europe’s
interests come last.”
The German Foreign Ministry spokesman,
Martin Schäfer,
echoed the warning on Wednesday, calling US sanctions an “unacceptable”
instrument that serves US industrial policy. Berlin believes the new
sanctions do little more than the promotion of US Liquified Natural Gas
exports.
It should be recalled that the Polish,
Swedish, Estonian, Slovak, and Ukrainian governments have at one point
or another expressed strong objections to the implementation of the Nord
Stream II project. The concern that Nord Stream II accentuates energy
dependency on Russia is expressed even in Germany, with a member of the
foreign affairs committee of the German Parliament,
Roderich Kiesewetter, reiterating this concern on Friday.
But, the status quo position in Berlin is
clear. In anticipation of the Senate vote on Thursday,the German
foreign ministry echoed President Juncker that Europe must be prepared
to respond “in kind” if the United States target European companies. And
German economy minister
Brigitte Zyries said that Washington has abandoned the “common line” with Europe over Russian policy, Reuters reports.
The French foreign ministry statement on Wednesday referred to an “unlawful” bill with “extraterritorial reach.”
But, there is no turning back.The White
House has stated the President is open to signing the bill. Due to the
ongoing investigation into the
Trump campaign’s alleged collusion with Russia, it is doubtful the President has the political leverage to kill the bill.
Kremlin sources cited by the BBC were
noting on Thursday morning that if President Trump were to sign the
bill, he would be “useless” to Russia.
The Kremlin has reacted with vehement criticism of the bill. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister
Sergey Ryabkov
told the TASS news agency on Thursday that such a bill would destroy
any prospects of normalization in Moscow’s bilateral relations to
Washington.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/brussels-braces-confrontation-washington-sanctions-russia/