BERLIN (Sputnik) — In October, European Commission Energy Union Vice President Maros Sefcovic said that the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline project would hurt EU energy security due to increased reliance on Russian gas imports. Last week, Rome expressed concern over the project, saying that it seems like Germany is putting its economic interests far ahead of the bloc’s joint needs.
"These additional capacities will result in better energy security in Europe, as this pipeline <…> will not depend on anyone," Erler told the German WDR5 radio station.
Russian energy giant Gazprom started the project with a consortium of five large European energy companies, including Shell and EON.
The project plans to use the original Nord Stream pipeline for 86 percent of the route before branching off. It will have a capacity of up to 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas, to be supplied to European customers.
