A complex game of cat-and-mouse is playing out in the chill waters off Bornholm, a Danish island in the Baltic sea. A flotilla of Russian boats, stripped of the usual international service and logistics support, is trying to complete the construction of Nord Stream 2 (NS2), a 1,230-km (765-mile) gas pipeline that would double capacity from Russia to Germany. Less than 150km remain to be built, mainly in Danish waters. Meanwhile the American government, armed with ever-growing secondary-sanctions legislation, is watching closely, picking off companies it suspects of involvement in the construction of NS2. The pipeline’s fate depends on the outcome of this race.
NS2 has inspired fierce criticism ever since 2015, when Gazprom, Russia’s state-backed gas giant, and five European energy giants formed a €9.5bn ($11bn) consortium to lay a new pipeline next to an existing one along the Baltic seabed. American opposition to NS2, grounded in concerns that it will expand the malign influence of the Kremlin, is a rare bipartisan affair. Many Europeans, especially in the east, fear it will increase the EU’s dependence on Russian energy—and harm Ukraine by depriving it of the transit fees it earns from an existing pipeline. France reiterated its opposition this week. The European Commission, which over the years has successfully reined in Gazprom’s ambitions in Europe, is sceptical, and the European Parliament is vehemently opposed. Many Germans who value these opinions wonder why their government insists on ploughing ahead.