The Commission is right to complain. While Russia does not shy away from extracting political benefits from its energy exports, the Commission challenges Gazprom on legal and regulatory grounds, not political ones. By enforcing its ‘Third Energy Package', the Commission has had some success in conditioning Gazprom to behave like a normal market player, though more could be done. So far, the Commission's energy security policy has been based on market regulation, liberalisation and diversification, not on politicising supplies. But US sanctions would do precisely that. It would drag Nord Stream 2 into the geopolitical bear pit, an arena where the legally-minded Commission has a lot less clout.
There are also concerns about a hidden agenda in Washington. Donald Trump wants to adjust America's large trade deficit with the EU. Rather than raise trade barriers, Wilbur Ross, the US commerce secretary, and others in the administration, have suggested that Europe could correct the transatlantic trade balance by buying more US liquid natural gas (LNG). According to the International Energy Agency , within the next five years the United States will be among the three largest exporters of liquid natural gas.
