The leaders of Poland and Lithuania have raised new concerns over Russia’s Nord Stream 2 project, claiming that the gas pipeline presents a threat to the energy security of the region.
In a televised news conference, Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that “Poland and Lithuania have a very similar stance. We say that the construction of Nord Stream 2 is a threat to energy security in this part of Europe.”
Lithuania’s prime minister, Saulius Skvernelis, echoed Mr Morawiecki’s words, saying: “We share a position on Nord Stream 2 – it is a geopolitical project with no economic justification, which makes the main big European countries 80 per cent dependent on gas supplies from one country, that being Russia.”
The Nord Stream 2 project will double Russia’s capacity for piping gas, running across the Baltic Sea, Denmark’s territorial waters and then on to Germany. It is led by the Russian company Gazprom and backed by Shell, German companies Uniper and BASF unit Wintershall, France’s Engie and Austria’s OMV. The project is currently 75 per cent complete.
