Macron challenges gas pipeline

FRANCE is set to challenge a controversial gas pipeline project between Germany and Russia in the first sign of a rift between Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel.

Less than a month after the leaders signed a new friendship treaty to great fanfare, France announced yesterday that it is backing a bid to bring Germany’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline under EU regulations.

It puts Mr Macron at odds with Germany, which has been trying to prevent the move in Brussels. Nord Stream 2, which will carry gas directly from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, has long been a point of contention between Germany and its allies, and has come under sustained attack from the US.

“The fact that the EU is dependent on Russian gas poses risks for Europe and the West as a whole, and makes us all more insecure,” the ambassadors to Germany, Denmark and the EU wrote yesterday.

“Nord Stream 2 would make Europe still more vulnerable to Russian blackmail in the energy sector.” Until now, Nord Stream 2 has not been subject to the EU’S strict energy rules as the pipeline is outside EU territory, but several member states are backing a bid to bring it under the regulations that are due to be voted on today.

Germany has been building a blocking minority to stop the move, but it was dependent on France’s support.

“Work is continuing with our partners, in particular with Germany, on possible changes to the text,” a French foreign ministry spokesman said.