EU, NATO To Find Solutions To Protect Critical Infrastructure - Von Der Leyen

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published March 17, 2023 | 11:15 PM

The European Union and NATO will develop solutions to better protect its critical energy and transport infrastructure, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th March, 2023) The European Union and NATO will develop solutions to better protect its critical energy and transport infrastructure, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.

On Thursday, NATO and the EU held the first meeting of a joint task force on the protection of critical infrastructure. The decision to create the group was made on January 11 following the explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

"The European Union and NATO both have a very clear view on the threat theatre and an assessment on the situation, but we come from different angles. And therefore, if we join forces, we have a broader view and of course we are also able to find more solutions to protect our critical infrastructure," von der Leyen said at a press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Norway.

The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, built to deliver gas under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, have been out of action since they were hit by explosions last September.

Nord Stream's operator, Nord Stream AG, said that the damage was unprecedented and it was impossible to estimate the time repairs might take.

Russia considers the explosions of the two pipelines an act of international terrorism. The official results of the investigation are not out yet, but Pulitzer Prize-winning US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published a report in February, which pointed to the US and Norway as the culprits. According to the report, US navy divers planted explosives to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines during NATO Baltops exercises in the summer of 2022, and Norway activated them three months later. The report added that US President Joe Biden had decided to sabotage the Nord Streams after more than nine months of secret discussions with the national security team.

A number of Western media outlets, including Germany's Zeit and Spiegel, reported that a pro-Ukrainian group could have been responsible for blowing up the pipelines.