President Donald Trump has signed a
law that will impose sanctions on any firm that helps Russia's
state-owned gas company, Gazprom, finish a pipeline into the European
Union.
The sanctions target firms building Nord Stream 2, an
undersea pipeline that will allow Russia to increase gas exports to
Germany.
The US considers the project a security risk to Europe.
Both Russia and the EU have strongly condemned the US sanctions.
Congress
voted through the measures as part of a defence bill last week and the
legislation, which described the pipeline as a "tool of coercion", was
signed off by Mr Trump on Friday.
Why is the US against the pipeline?
The
almost $11bn (£8.4bn) Nord Stream 2 project has infuriated the US, with
both Republican and Democratic lawmakers opposing it.
The Trump
administration fears the pipeline will tighten Russia's grip over
Europe's energy supply and reduce its own share of the lucrative
European market for American liquefied natural gas.
- Skateboarding protesters occupy gas pipeline in Germany
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President Trump has said the 1,225km (760-mile) pipeline, owned
by Russia's Gazprom, could turn Germany into a "hostage of Russia".
The US sanctions have angered Russia and the European Union, which says it should be able to decide its own energy policies.
Earlier
this week German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was "opposed to
extraterritorial sanctions" against the Nord Stream 2 project.
German foreign minister Heiko Maas struck a more
combative tone, saying the sanctions amounted to "interference in
autonomous decisions taken in Europe".
Allseas, a Swiss-Dutch
company involved in the project, said it had suspended its pipe-laying
activities in anticipation of the sanctions.
The US sanctions also
target TurkStream, a Russia-Turkey pipeline, and include asset freezes
and revocation of US visas for the contractors.
How have Russia and the EU reacted?
On Saturday, the EU voiced its clear opposition to the US sanctions.
"As
a matter of principle, the EU opposes the imposition of sanctions
against EU companies conducting legitimate business," a spokesman for
the trading bloc told AFP news agency.
Russia's foreign ministry
also strongly opposed the move, with ministry spokeswoman Maria
Zakharova accusing Washington of promoting an "ideology" that hinders
global competition.
The consortium behind Nord Stream 2 confirmed that it would build the pipeline as soon as possible, despite the sanctions.
It
said: "Completing the project is essential for European supply
security. We, together with the companies supporting the project, will
work on finishing the pipeline as soon as possible."
Why is Nord Stream 2 so controversial?
For years EU member states have been concerned about the bloc's reliance on Russian gas.
Russia
currently supplies about 40% of the EU's gas supplies - just ahead of
Norway, which is not in the EU but takes part in its single market. The
new pipeline will increase the amount of gas going under the Baltic to
55 billion cubic metres per year.
Disagreements among EU nations were so strong that, earlier this year, they even threatened to derail the project entirely.
The bloc eventually agreed to strengthen regulations
against Nord Stream 2, rather than stop it completely, and to bring it
under European control.
Businesses in Germany, meanwhile, have
invested heavily in the project. Chancellor Merkel has tried to assure
Central and Eastern European states that the pipeline would not make
Germany reliant on Russia for energy.
There is concern in other
quarters, too. In May, climate activists opposing the use of fossil
fuels occupied part of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in Germany.
The
demonstrators, who said the project would be more detrimental to the
environment than the authorities had claimed, began skateboarding inside
the pipes.
Police said at least five people had occupied the pipes near Wrangelsburg in northern Germany.
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