US "supports BRUA gas pipeline" passing through Romania

Increase of European imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and finding a way to diversify Europe’s gas resources and thus reduce dependence on Russian gas has been one of the agreed terms during the recent White House meeting between US President, Donald Trump and President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.

EU will build more LNG terminals after imports of liquefied gas, said Jean-Claude Juncker. "Europeans will be a massive buyer of liquefied gas, so it will be possible to diversify their energy supply, and we have a lot", said in turn US President Donald Trump.

The United States has serious concerns about the new Romanian law on exploitation of offshore resources in the Black Sea - said Francis Fannon, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR) at the U.S Department of State. Instead, US official told Radio Romania News (RRA) Reporter, the United States strongly supports the BRUA pipeline from Bulgaria, through Romania and Hungary and ending in Austria.

RRA Reporter Carmen Gavrilă: Gas pipeline Nord Stream 2, that Russia uses to bypass Ukraine and get gas in Germany, is a huge risk to Europe's energy security and to security in general - said Assistant Secretary Francis Fannon, from the US Bureau of Energy Resources. He explained that Nord Stream 2, Nord Stream 1 and TurkStream projects divide the European Union, which is exactly what Russia wants; they make the Union almost completely dependent on Russian gas and hence on the political and geopolitical will of the Kremlin. Firms doing business with Russian gas have a high risk of being economically sanctioned, added Fannon.

Francis Fannon: Europe's dependence on Russian gas is a strategic vulnerability. Russia can and should remain a source of gas for Europe, but should not be allowed to dominate the market and have an advantage to achieve its negative geopolitical goals. Nord Stream 2, if achieved, would only underline efforts towards the goal of reaching a common energy security of Europe and would bring serious risks to the security of the European Union. Specifically, Nord Stream 2 will divide Europe and strengthen Russia's ability to use its energy resources for political conditioning and to negatively influence European states. More than that, Russia can use the construction of Nord Stream 2 to intensify its aggressive military presence in the Baltic Sea region.

RRA Reporter: Francis Fannon also said that Nord Stream 2 puts into question a whole list of energy projects, already approved by the EU, projects that would lead to a real diversification of sources, types and routes of energy transport.

US official insisted that the Nord Stream 2 project is far from just a trade agreement, but a geopolitical battle front open by Russia, which also aims to create divergences among NATO allies.

As Francis Fannon added, United States hopes that in Brussels, European Commission will make progress on the EU Gas Directive that can bring the necessary transparency in this field.

Source:RRA.Translated by Miruna Matei