Publication

This paper looks at the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project and contends that the proposed route between Russia and Germany is raising serious problems within the EU. A self-interested Germany, for example, continues to back the project even though it has negatively impacted its diplomatic reputation and credibility. The EU, in turn, remains unclear about the relative weight to bestow on the market and geopolitical approaches to the project, which then affects how Brussels structures its natural gas policies in general. By presently privileging geopolitical considerations over others, the author concludes, both sides are neglecting the idea of a liberalized natural gas market and are overlooking Europe’s favorable position in the international gas trade.