EU Commission President weighs in on Nord Stream 2 and Russian aggression
13 October 2021
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated
that Ukraine is and must remain a reliable gas transit country. The Commission
also continues to stress that Nord Stream 2 falls under the Third Energy
Package, she declared at a press conference after the Ukraine-EU summit in Kyiv
on Oct. 12. This means that EU licensing and competition rules do apply to the
recently completed pipeline.
Regarding the conflict in eastern Ukraine, von der
Leyen also called on Russia “to assume its responsibility as a party to the
conflict,” Ukrinform reported in Oct. 12.
James Hydzik: Von der
Leyen’s statements make it clear that no change in EC policy will be
forthcoming in the short term, except for some hardening of its stance against
Russia on contentious issues.
