Visegrad Group sends letter to EU Commission over Nord Stream pipeline

The letter, a copy of which was obtained by Politico magazine, asked the commission, headed by Jean-Claude Juncker, to conduct a “rigorous assessment” of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany, which will circumvent the Visegrad Group.

The group made an official call to the European Commission to rigorously enforce its role as guardian of treaties through a thorough assessment of the conformity of the Nord Stream 2 project with the objectives of EU energy policy in a two-page letter signed by the leaders of Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

In December, European Council President Donald Tusk stressed that Nord Stream 2 does not fit into European energy security strategy and indicated that the subject of the pipeline might come up at a forthcoming EU summit.

“Nord Stream 2 should be out of the question, because our intention is to break the dependence from the dominant gas provider, and diversify sources,” Tusk said, adding that he is not the only one with such a critical opinion of the pipeline project. (rg/pk)