On the same exact day that a major bill imposing sanctions on companies helping on the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Allseas Group announced it would pause the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

What does that mean?

Nord Stream 2 is a proposed pipeline that would stretch from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea. The pipeline is spearheaded by Gazprom, which is a Russian state-owned energy company. U.S. and Baltic officials say the new pipeline would increase European dependence on Russian energy.

Construction on the pipeline already started, but on December 20th, President Trump signed S. 1790 into law. Among other things, the law imposes sanctions on companies helping construct the pipeline. On that same day, the Swiss-based company Allseas Group paused construction, fearing U.S. sanctions.

Getting here was not a certain end. In a meeting with members of the Lithuanian-American Community during Baltic Advocacy Day in November, 2019, a staffer for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said that imposition of sanctions on Nord Stream 2 didn’t seem that likely, and the standalone bill might not be passed in time before construction of the pipeline was complete.

Between November 8th and December 20th, something changed and a bill to impose sanctions on companies constructing Nord Stream 2 was incorporated into the major military appropriations bill – N.D.A.A. (S. 1790)

This was a major issue that JBANC and the Baltic embassies were fighting for, and was something that Baltivists spoke about with Congressional offices during Baltic Advocacy Day in May, 2018 and November, 2019.

Cheers to the victory!