Biden Should Reverse Nord Stream 2 Sanctions Waiver Before It's Too Late, Experts Say
The Biden administration should impose sanctions against Nord Stream 2 and the company behind the gas pipeline project, European security experts said. Several called the U.S.’s May sanctions waiver (see 2105200055) a mistake and urged Congress to keep pushing the administration to impose sanctions before the pipeline is operational.
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“If there was one project where you had partisan unity in Congress, then it was definitely the position on Nord Stream 2,” Viola von Cramon, a member of the European Parliament, said during a Nov. 22 event hosted by the Atlantic Council. “Even this President Biden gave away, and I think this is extremely unfortunate.”
The Biden administration has repeatedly said the sanctions would’ve done little to stop the nearly completed pipeline from being finished and would've only damaged U.S. relations with Germany (see 2106070065). But many congressional Republicans disagreed, saying the administration empowered Russia and ignored the law by refusing to impose what they said were mandatory sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (see 2110010015).
Instead of imposing sanctions, the U.S. issued a joint declaration alongside Germany, which vowed to push for European Union-wide sanctions against Russia if it used the pipeline as a weapon or committed further ”aggressive acts” against Ukraine (see 2107220008). But Germany hasn’t followed through on that commitment, said Benjamin Schmitt, an expert at the Center for European Policy Analysis. “We have not seen Berlin come through on its side of this agreement,” Schmitt said. “And I think that's why you're seeing [Vladimir] Putin feel like he can act with more impunity in the energy space over the past several months.”
Schmitt said the administration needs to impose sanctions “to acknowledge at a minimum that Russia is using energy as a political weapon,” urging the U.S not to wait until Russia further invades Ukraine. “If you wait to sanction Russia until there is military aggression, the horse is already out of the barn in terms of deterrence,” he said. “You really need to stop Nord Stream 2 as a deterrent for further Russian aggression, rather than as punishment. Because at that point, there really is nothing you can do.”
Yuri Vitrenko, CEO of Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state-owned and largest gas company, agreed. Imposing sanctions after Russia attacks Ukraine would be “illogical,” he said. Ukraine believes that “sanctions should be imposed now,” Vitrenko said. “And then if Russia plays by the rules, if Russia de-weaponizes its gas supplies, if Russia starts treating gas as just a normal commodity and it's not using it for political advantages or military advantages, then the U.S. can reconsider their decision and remove sanctions.”
Von Cramon called Biden’s Nord Stream 2 policy a “strategic” blunder. She said the U.S. didn’t impose the sanctions in a bid to improve relations with Germany and potentially recruit it to side against China on other security and economic issues. “It was a strategic mistake because it was actually a green light for [Russian energy company] Gazprom to finish” the project, von Cramon said. “Russia is now free to use gas even more as a political weapon.” The White House didn’t comment.
The Nord Stream 2 sanctions issue has been one of the top disagreements between the administration and congressional Republicans. Several lawmakers have threatened to block officials from being confirmed in the Senate -- including two of Biden’s nominees to fill senior sanctions posts at the Treasury Department -- until the U.S. imposes the sanctions (see 2110050029). “Congress has a role here,” Schmitt said. “I think based on its track record over the past three years plus, from CAATSA through the previous two National Defense Authorization Acts, they have shown an ability to act and be effective in stopping this project at various stages of its development.”