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German Business Association calls on US to lift sanctions against Nord Stream 2

The newspaper cites the letter OAOEV sent to Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and number of influential members of the US Democratic Party

© Igor Kuznetsov/Nord Stream 2

BERLIN, November 20. /TASS/. The German Eastern Business Association (OAOEV) has called on the US to abandon sanctions against the companies involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, the Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Friday.

The newspaper cites the letter OAOEV sent to Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and number of influential members of the US Democratic Party.

"Joe Biden's victory holds a great promise to the German economy to revive the Transatlantic partnership," OAOEV representatives write. However, the German business fears that "following Biden's victory, the Democrats want to introduce new extraterritorial sanctions against Nord Stream 2," according to the message dated November 17.

German business representatives are calling for the abandonment of restrictive measures, Handelsblatt writes.

About Association

The German Eastern Business Association (OAOEV) is the major regional initiative of the German economy for 29 countries in Central Europe, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, in the South Caucasus and in Central Asia. The OAOEV supports its members in their projects, arranges contacts and answers questions about market entry. The OAOEV was founded in May 2018 through the merging of the Eastern Committee (founded in 1952) and the Eastern Europe Business Association of Germany (founded in 1989). It is supported by six central associations of German business and has around 350 member companies.

US sanctions against Nord Stream 2

In 2017, the US Congress adopted the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions act (CAATSA). It envisages the introduction of sanctions against companies involved in the Nord Stream-2 project.

In July 2020, the US Senate’s international relations committee supported a special bill on restrictions against contractors involved in laying the pipeline.

In October, US State Department published a statement that US sanctions against Nord Stream 2 may also cover companies providing services or funding to vessels involved in the project.

The Nord Stream 2 project contemplates construction of two gas pipeline strings with the total capacity of 55 bln cubic meters per year from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea. The gas pipeline is 93% complete to date. The construction was suspended at the end of 2019 when the Swiss pipe-laying company Allseas stopped work due to US sanctions.

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