New US-German-EU understanding over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project

The Biden-Harris Administration reached an understanding with Germany to drop US sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 project, Germany, US strike Nord Stream 2 compromise deal Deutsche Welle 07/22/2021:

That DW report suggests plausibly (though not precisely in these terms) that Biden's position has to do with balancing together with the EU and Russia against China. From an American or EU viewpoint, whether Nord Stream 2 is helpful or detrimental geopolitically depends on how it fits into the much larger network of relationships among the US, EU, Russia, and China.

DW also notes that the German Green Party is cool toward the Nord Stream 2 project, partially on environmental grouods but also because they want a less friendly policy toward Russia. The Greens' foreign policy has long since ceased to be the "pacifist" policy it once was. They are now more focused on showing they are "tough" and "pragmatic".

Wolfgang Münchau of Eurointelligence calls Nord Stream 2 "a sordid gas pipeline deal," though in a 2020 column I previously cited it's not entirely clear what he finds "sordid" about it. The US had previously opposed it for several reasons, including its potential to increase European dependence of Russian oil and therefore make the EU more vulnerable to Russian pressure by withholding oil, as Russia has done with Ukraine. And obviously there are a number of outstanding disputes over particular problems between the US and Russia, including Russia's annexation of Ukraine's territory in Crimea and Russian and Russian interference in US elections.

Germany has seen Nord Stream 2 as a profitable project for German firms and a contribution to energy stability, which is a major feature of EU energy policy. There are objections from environmental groups to the project. And eastern European countries, notably including Poland, are also opposed to it because of fear of increased Russian influence.

But with this project, influence and dependence go both ways. It is also a fundamental idea of the EU and Germany in particular that increased economic ties promote peace and make war less likely. Russia's is a petrostate, its economy still heavily dependent on oil exports, as it has been since the 1970s under the Soviet Union. So Russia sees both profit and potential political clout in the deal.

Again, how heavily the influence leans on one side or the other depends heavily on the broader course of EU-Russia relations. Is it necessary to add that the Trump-Pence Administration's stalling of the project did not seem to take much concern for the4 complexities of that larger picture? Trump hated Merkel, and his own considerations may not have gone much beyond that.

Here's a background report from earlier this month by FRANCE 24 English, Nord Stream 2: A pipeline too far? 07/09/2021: