When construction began on the second Nord Stream pipeline that was going to double the volume of natural gas ships to Europe—most of it to Germany—the European Union wasted no time in voicing its opposition to more Russian gas. Led by Ukraine, which fears the transit fee losses that Nord Stream 2 would bring, and the Baltic States and Poland, which are too reliant on Russian gas supplies already, this opposition led to legal battles and threats of sanctions if Russia “tries to use the pipeline as a weapon against other countries,” according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The project also attracted the attention of the new global gas export giant, the United States, for which the European market is a most lucrative one thanks to its repetitively stated desire to diversify gas supply sources. The U.S. slapped sanctions on the Russian participants in Nord Stream 2 and threatened […]