BRUSSELS, July 17. /TASS/. The European Union firmly opposes unilateral sanctions and threats of sanctions by the United States, as they affect the interests of European companies, including Nord Stream 2 and Turkstream gas pipelines. Such measures go against the international law, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said in a statement.

"I am deeply concerned at the growing use of sanctions, or the threat of sanctions, by the United States against European companies and interests. We have witnessed this developing trend in the cases of Iran, Cuba, the International Criminal Court and most recently the Nord Stream 2 and Turkstream projects. As a matter of principle the European Union opposes the use of sanctions by third countries on European companies carrying out legitimate business. Moreover, it considers the extraterritorial application of sanctions to be contrary to international law," the statement said.

"European policies should be determined here in Europe not by third countries," Borrell noted. "Where common foreign and security policy goals are shared, there is great value in the coordination of targeted sanctions with partners. We have seen many positive examples of this and will continue to coordinate where we can. Where policy differences exist, the European Union is always open to dialogue. But this cannot take place against the threat of sanctions," he said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said earlier that Nord Stream 2 and Turkstream will be covered by the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

The Nord Stream 2 project includes the construction of two lines of a gas pipeline with a total capacity of 55 bln cubic meters per year from the Russian coast through the Baltic Sea to Germany. At the moment, the project is 93% complete. The halt in the project was due to the fact that in December 2019, due to US sanctions, Swiss company Allseas stopped work on the pipeline’s construction.