OREANDA-NEWS. The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline under construction is important for Europe, as it will allow more gas to be received, and US extraterritorial sanctions in this context are unacceptable and require retaliatory measures. This was stated to a Russian media correspondent by the head of the Bundestag committee on economics and energy, Klaus Ernst.

Nord Stream 2 is important if only because it can deliver additional volumes of gas to Europe. It's up to Germany and Europe to decide from whom to buy gas, and this doesn't depend on the crisis around the coronavirus. The extraterritorial sanctions of the USA against enterprises, including European ones, which are involved in the construction of the project, are unacceptable and require tough response from Europe. For example, sanctions against American fracking gas", Ernst said.

In his opinion, restrictive measures are detrimental to economic relations between Russia and the EU countries. This leads to the fact that the Russian Federation replaces imported goods with its own production, or enhances trade with China. According to Ernst, this does not meet the interests of Europe, because "a strong Europe can only be with the involvement of Russia".