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.