Nord Stream 2: Is It a Threat to European Energy Security?

On April 1, 2016, the Atlantic Council’s Eurasian Energy Futures Initiative held a debate on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and how it could affect the geopolitical and geoeconomic future of Europe’s energy security. 

Speakers at this lively debate were Anders Åslund, Resident Senior Fellow, Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center; Tim Boersma, Acting Director, Energy Security and Climate Initiative and Fellow, Foreign Policy, Brookings Institution; Ambassador Richard Morningstar, Founding Director and Chairman, Global Energy Center, Atlantic Council; and Friedbert Pflüger, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Global Energy Center, Atlantic Council. David Koranyi, Director, of Atlantic Council’s Eurasian Energy Futures Initiative opened the debate with welcoming remarks. The debate was moderated by the Council’s Global Energy Center’s Deputy Director, Annie Medaglia. During the debate, the following questions and more where addressed:

  • What kind of an impact will Nord Stream 2 have on the European energy security?
  • What are the commercial, legal, and political-policy issues that could potentially prevent the pipeline from being built?

Is Nord Stream 2 pipeline a geopolitical project that seeks to diminish Ukraine’s gas supply and its role as a transit country or is Nord Stream 2 a business plan that will help Europe meet its energy demands amidst European Union’s climate change goals?

View the webcast below:

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance