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Business in Europe

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The first edition of EUobserver's Business in Europe magazine looks at business and industry in Europe.

NORD STREAM 2 BUSINESS

NORD STREAM 2 BUSINESS UNUSUAL EU and US leaders have said there is no business as usual with Russia after it started the war in Ukraine. By Andrew Rettman EU and US leaders have said there is no business as usual with Russia after it started the war in Ukraine. Sanctions have curbed credit and technology ex- ruling elite. Nato is creating a force in the Baltic region in case the new Cold War escalates and every day Russian TV pumps out shows that demonise the West. investing billions in an unusual project to redraw the map of Russian gas supplies to Europe - Nord Stream 2. If things go to plan, in September they would start taking delivery of pipes that would lie on the bottom of the Baltic Sea ready to convey 55 billion cubic metres of gas a year from Russia to Germany from 2020 onward. 06 — BUSINESS IN EUROPE JUNE 2016

24-tonne steel pipes Photo: Nord Stream AG They would lie alongside an existing 55 billion cubic metres of pipes known as Nord Stream 1. Together, they would account for two out of every 10 drops of gas burned in EU homes and factories, or seven out of every 10 sold by Russia to the EU. ENERGY CHAMPIONS BASF and E.ON, Engie (France), OMV (Austria) and Shell (Anglo-Dutch) together with Gazprom, the Russian energy champion which has the majority stake. The venture is unusual in several ways. For Jens Mueller, a Swiss PR man who works for Nord Stream 2 – the consortium is based in the Swiss town of Zug – the EU sanctions do not pose a problem. Mueller told EUobserver that the sanctions were designed to let Nord Stream 2 go ahead. “Gas projects between the EU and Russia are out of scope of the sanctions regime,” he said. Vera Surzhenko, a Shell PR woman, went further. She said the project was also in line with the “spirit” of EU policy on Russia. “All Nord Stream 2 discussions have carefully followed both the spirit and letter of sanctions requirements,” she said. stand in their way. It risks being blocked by sanctions, by EU law or by EU and US politics. It risks lack of demand. It is pricier than alternative projects. It also ties the is controlled by Russian security services and is bleeding money at a rapid rate. SOUTH STREAM BLOCKED ON LEGAL GROUNDS The European Commission is studying if Nord Stream 2 complies with EU energy market legislation. It blocked a previous EU-Russia pipeline, South Stream, on legal grounds. SUSTAINABLE ENERGY WEEK BUILDING THE ENERGY UNION TOGETHER 13­17 JUNE 2016 #EUSEW16 AWARDS CEREMONY 14 JUNE CHARLEMAGNE BUILDING POLICY CONFERENCE ‘ENERGY CONSUMERS’ 14­16 JUNE CHARLEMAGNE BUILDING AND THE RESIDENCE PALACE, BRUSSELS ENERGY DAYS THROUGHOUT JUNE ACROSS ALL OF EUROPE NETWORKING VILLAGE 15­16 JUNE RESIDENCE PALACE, BRUSSELS VISIT EUSEW.EU EUENERGYWEEK @EUENERGYWEEK POWER TO THE CONSUMER! Energy SUSTAINABLE ENERGY WEEK 13-17 June 2016 BUSINESS IN EUROPE JUNE 2016 — 07

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