BRUSSELS – The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) on May 28 appealed to the federal government and to Democratic parties in Germany urging them to impose an immediate moratorium on Nord Stream 2. The Russian natural gas pipeline, intended to bypass eastern Europe and directly connect in Germany, is scheduled to be completed this summer. It has faced significant European and international condemnation for being a political weapon of the Kremlin intended to use energy supplies to control Ukraine and other Eastern European countries.
The UWC said that a moratorium should be used to clarify the strategic implications of Nord Stream 2 – particularly with respect to the security of Ukraine and of the EU’s eastern member states; undertake a detailed life cycle assessment of the project and have its climate impacts examined by an independent body; push forward with a common European energy policy; resolve the transatlantic differences relating to Nord Stream 2; and discuss principal issues of controversy between the EU and the Kremlin and reassess Nord Stream 2 in light of that discussion.
The UWC emphasized that Nord Stream 2 undermines European cohesion and transatlantic relations, conflicts with the new European and German climate goals, threatens the already precarious security of Ukraine and runs counter to the aim of a common EU external energy policy.
The appeal for a moratorium on Nord Stream 2, initiated by the influential German think tank Zentrum Liberale Moderne, has been reported on by prominent German and international media. Like the UWC, the German think tank and two other German organizations were recently banned by the Russian state prosecutor’s office.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been personally informed about the appeal, which brings together a large number of prominent figures from Europe and North America, including former Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and former Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, as well as former ministers, high-ranking diplomats, military personnel, numerous members of parliament, well-known thought-leaders and representatives of civil society.
“A moratorium for Nord Stream 2 represents a chance to arrive at a common European position,” UWC President Paul Grod said. “It would deliver a clear message to Russia’s leadership that there are consequences for continuing violations of international law and for undermining the rules-based European order.”
“UWC calls on all Ukrainian and Eastern European communities together with all friends of Ukraine to join the appeal and urge their respective governments to support the moratorium on Nord Stream 2,” Mr. Grod said.
Readers who would like to sign the appeal or see a list of its signatories may visit http://moratorium-for-ns2.org/en/2021/05/26/a-moratorium-on-nord-stream-2/.