The European Union is 'divided' in response to new US sanctions against Russia

Diplomats and experts say that the decisions of the European Commission, which intends to respond to new US sanctions against Russia, are likely to face opposition from some member states of the Union that have differing views on how to deal with Russia. According to a report by Reuters on Tuesday, June 2, under a new bill agreed upon by the Senate and House leaders in the US, companies that assist in the construction of energy export lines for Russia will be penalized. European companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a $9.5 billion project that transports Russian gas from the Baltic Sea, are likely to be subject to these penalties. Both the European Union and the US imposed sanctions on Russia's financial, defense, and energy sectors in response to the annexation of Crimea and Moscow's direct support for separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014. Markus Beier, director of the EU's most important lobbying organization, urged the US to 'avoid unilateral sanctions that would fundamentally harm the EU, its citizens, and its companies.' The European Commission is set to make a decision on this matter on Wednesday, a day after the House of Representatives votes on new sanctions against Russia. The Commission is well aware that this US action may once again exacerbate internal disagreements within the Union regarding how to deal with Russia. German oil and gas companies 'Wintershall and Uniper,' Dutch company 'Shell,' Austrian company 'OMV,' and Italian company 'Eni' are among the European companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 project. An EU official stated that the Commission could officially request the US to exempt European companies from these sanctions, block US punitive measures against European companies using EU laws, or alternatively, completely prohibit transactions with certain American companies. However, if the US does not accept the Commission's request, imposing regulations to prevent American companies from accessing European banks would require the agreement of all 28 member states of the Union. Former Eastern Bloc countries, including Poland and the Baltic republics, are unlikely to vote for reciprocal measures to maintain European participation in the Nord Stream 2 project. For them, the Russian gas transfer project increases Europe's dependency on energy from that country. According to a Reuters report citing an EU official, most European countries view this project as 'in contradiction or at least disproportionate to Europe's goals of reducing its dependency on Russian energy.' The UK, a key ally of the US, is also reluctant to challenge the US Congress as it prepares to exit the EU. Another action the European Commission could take is to file a complaint with the World Trade Organization. However, gathering evidence on the impact of US punitive measures on European companies' operations may take months. EU officials say that diplomatic protests, including reducing official visits of European officials to Washington, are unlikely to yield significant results, as the Trump administration has repeatedly ignored requests for meetings from EU Commission members with US officials in recent months. Another issue highlighting the disarray in the EU's unified stance towards US Congressional decisions is that, according to two informed sources in Brussels, Germany has recently asked member states to add four more Russian individuals and companies to the sanctions list against Russia. In recent years, as trade relations between the EU and Russia have diminished, maintaining unity on how to deal with Russia within the Union has become very difficult. The main reason for this is the conflicting economic interests that each member state has in Russia, along with the lack of US leadership in this crisis since Donald Trump's rise to power.