The EU affirms that it will give a “joint response” to the sabotage of the Nord Stream

The European Union (EU) has no doubt that the leaks recorded in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines are the product of “deliberate acts”. In a joint statement, the Twenty-seven expressed their concern on Wednesday about the sabotage of these two infrastructures in the Baltic Sea and warned that they will give a “joint and solid” response if it is shown that the leaks have been provoked.

At the moment, all available information “indicates that the leaks are the result of a deliberate act,” the document insists. And he adds that “any deliberate interruption of the European energy infrastructure is absolutely unacceptable and will have a united response.” Denmark, Norway, Poland and the United States also defend the sabotage theory and Swedish seismologists went further by confirming several explosions in the area hours before the leaks from the two pipes were recorded.

The gas leaks were recorded in the early hours of Tuesday, when the Danish maritime authorities reported a leak in the Nord Stream 2. Hours later, two other leaks were confirmed in the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, in the same area, twenty kilometers away. from the Danish island of Bornholm.

Three CIA officials said Tuesday that they warned European countries in June that the two gas pipelines were going to be the target of future attacks, although they did not specify who might be behind these acts. Germany, for its part, indicated that it believes that the entry of seawater into the pipes will cause corrosion that will render these two infrastructures permanently unusable.

The gaps in the two gigantic pipes have already caused the loss of more than half of the stored gas, with the consequent economic cost that it entails. Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov acknowledged that the leaks are “problematic” for Moscow because the Russian gas that escapes “costs a lot of money.” Both gas pipelines were stopped -the 1 was closed by the Kremlin at the beginning of September in retaliation for the economic sanctions and the 2 never came into operation-, but they were at maximum capacity.

New round of sanctions

For this reason, Russia requested this Wednesday an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, of which it is a permanent member, to address the matter. France, which holds the presidency of the body, confirmed that they will meet tomorrow to examine the issue.

The incident has also caused an environmental disaster in the Baltic in just a few hours. Images of the area reveal a huge smoldering pool of methane gas, considered a key emitter of greenhouse gases.

On the other hand, the Twenty-seven announced on Wednesday that they are preparing to align themselves with the oil price cap proposed by the G7 countries and will restrict the export of more technology that “will limit Russian military capacity.” The EU calculates that this new package of economic punishments will have an impact of around 7,000 million euros. The bloc will also expand the list of individuals and entities sanctioned for their “key role” in the Ukraine war. Currently, there are more than 1,300 people and organizations on this blacklist.