The media reported the withdrawal of 18 European companies from Nord Stream 2

US pressure resulted in 18 companies refusing to participate in the construction of a gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. At the same time, none of them were threatened with specific sanctions, follows from a recent report from the US State Department to Congress.

At least 18 European companies have refused or are planning to refuse to participate in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, the German newspaper Tagesspiegel reports , citing a US State Department report to Congress. According to the publication, the reason for the refusals is pressure and the threat of sanctions from the American authorities.

• Tagesspiegel lists the names of just two of the companies mentioned in the State Department report: Mannheim-based industrial services provider Bilfinger and insurer Munich Re. on February 23, citing its own sources The fact that Munich Re withdrew from the implementation of Nord Stream 2 was also reported by Reuters .

• On February 22, State Department spokesman Ned Price announced that at least 15 European companies were refusing to participate in the pipeline project. At the same time, he emphasized that none of these companies was under the threat of US sanctions.

• The companies participating in the pipeline construction project are abandoning Nord Stream 2, despite the fact that Bloomberg, citing its own sources, reported that the administration of US President Joe Biden was refusing sanctions against German businesses due to the risk of worsening relations with a key partner in EU. Tagesspiegel also points out that no new restrictions are mentioned in the State Department report.

• The only company that has come under US sanctions in connection with its participation in the construction of Nord Stream 2 in recent days is the Russian KVT-RUS, which owns the Fortuna pipelayer (the ship also came under sanctions). The decision to impose restrictions on KVT-RUS was made by the administration of Donald Trump.

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Nord Stream 2 involves the construction of two strings of a gas pipeline with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year from the Russian coast through the Baltic Sea to Germany. Since the end of 2019, the United States has been introducing and expanding sanctions against companies involved in the project. First, pipelayers were at risk of restrictions, then the business that provides them with services and equipment. Read more about sanctions here .