German-Russian pipeline project takes shape, amid US protest
MUKRAN, Germany — Sparks fly and machines whir as workers busily prepare thousands of steel pipes that will become part of a vast undersea pipeline bringing gas from Russia to Germany’s northeastern Baltic coast.
The Nord Stream 2 project will double the amount of natural gas Russia can funnel directly to the heart of Europe from newly tapped reserves in Siberia, intentionally skirting Eastern European nations like Poland and Ukraine. It also promises much-needed jobs in this poor German backwater, some three hours’ drive north of Berlin.
The United States and some other German allies have bristled at the project, warning that it could give Moscow greater leverage over Western Europe.
Energy-poor Germany already relies heavily on Russian gas and so far Chancellor Angela Merkel has deftly kept the new $11 billion pipeline off the table while imposing sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine.