Top EU official pledges to ‘stress test’ pipelines after leaks
BRUSSELS (AP) — The chief executive of the European Union pledged on Wednesday to introduce controls on key EU infrastructure, including energy, after the alleged sabotage of gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last week’s damage to Nord Stream pipelines that connect Russia to Germany “showed how vulnerable our energy infrastructure is” and that a plan global is necessary to ensure the security of major EU networks, including data.
“We have to stress test our infrastructure,” von der Leyen told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. “We need to identify if we have any weak points and where those weak points are.” She also said satellite surveillance will be used to detect potential threats.
Amid Russia’s seven-month war on Ukraine and Western military support for the Ukrainian government, underwater explosions last week ruptured the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which were built to carry gas from Russia to Germany.
Because member countries are responsible for overseeing energy and other basic infrastructure within the EU, von der Leyen said his security push would involve national capitals.
“We will work with member states to ensure effective stress testing in the energy sector,” she said. “This should therefore be followed by other high-risk sectors, such as offshore digital and electrical infrastructure.”
The Danish and Swedish governments said several hundred pounds of explosives were used to damage the two pipelines at two locations off Sweden and two off Denmark last week. The leaks released large amounts of methane into the air.
“The detonations should be seen in light of the deteriorating security situation in Europe. We have every reason to believe that this is deliberate sabotage,” Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said on Wednesday. “At this time, we cannot guarantee which actor is responsible. “
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused the West of attacking the pipelines, which the United States and its allies have vehemently denied.
Danish authorities said the two leaks they were monitoring in international waters stopped over the weekend. One of the leaks off Sweden also appears to have come to an end.
The Swedish Coast Guard said on Wednesday that the size of the remaining leak from the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was “a bit smaller” and “looks like it is shrinking”.
Sweden has deployed a vessel capable of carrying out advanced diving missions above the leak, although it is unclear when a diver or submarine would come down to carry out an inspection.
The Swedish Coast Guard has one of its vessels on site 24 hours a day to monitor shipping traffic in the area.
The Swedish Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Swedish Security Services are investigating. The Copenhagen police were in charge of an investigation in close cooperation with the Danish energy authorities, the national police and the Danish police intelligence service.
Also in Strasbourg on Wednesday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell predicted that the bloc’s 27 national governments would agree to hit Russia with new sanctions in response to its illegal annexation of four regions of Ukraine that represent about 15% of the Ukrainian territory.
The planned new sanctions include a price cap on Russian oil, restrictions on European exports of aircraft components to the country and limits on imports of Russian steel. Diplomats from EU member states were aiming to approve the new package as early as Wednesday in Brussels.
The new sanctions build on already unprecedented European sanctions against Russia following its war on Ukraine since February.
EU measures to date include restrictions on energy supplies from Russia, bans on financial transactions with Russian entities, including the central bank, and asset freezes against more than 1,000 people and more than 100 entities.
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