EU Taxpayers Spending Nothing On Nord Stream 2 In Contrast To Other Projects - Wintershall

Muhammad Irfan Published March 21, 2019 | 06:29 PM

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, set to carry Russian gas to Europe, does not cost European taxpayers a single cent, which is not the case with other projects, in which the European Union pours its funds, the CEO of German energy corporation Wintershall, Mario Mehren, said on Thursday

KASSEL (Germany) (UrduPoint news / Sputnik - 21st March, 2019) The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, set to carry Russian gas to Europe, does not cost European taxpayers a single cent, which is not the case with other projects, in which the European Union pours its funds, the CEO of German energy corporation Wintershall, Mario Mehren, said on Thursday.

"The European Union gives subsidies for [the implementation of] such projects as the Baltic Pipe, [providing] over 320 million Euros [$364.6 million]; the Poland-Lithuania Interconnector, [providing] 270 million euros; and the LNG [liquefied natural gas] terminal in [northwestern Polish city of] Swinoujscie [providing] over 200 million euros. Meanwhile, the construction of the Nord Stream 2 does not cost European taxpayers a single cent," Mehren said at a press conference.

He noted that the European Union and Russia needed to conduct a constructive dialogue, since neither "affordable climate protection" nor "socially acceptable refusal to use coal" nor "competitive industry" could be in place without the Russian gas.

"Nord Stream 2 power amounts to around 300 terawatt hours of electric energy per year. This is enough to substitute all the coal-generated electric energy without any subsidies," Mehren added.

Nord Stream 2 is a joint venture of Russian energy giant Gazprom and five European partners, including Wintershall. The pipeline is expected to be put into operation by the end of 2019. It is projected to deliver 55 billion cubic meters (1.9 trillion cubic feet) of Russian natural gas annually to EU countries, passing territorial waters or exclusive economic zones of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.