Berlin (AFP)

The European Union, led by Berlin, and Moscow strongly denounced Saturday the American sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, at the heart of an economic and geopolitical battle between Washington and Brussels.

These sanctions came at a time when the United States as well as certain European countries - Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries - fear that this tube will increase Europeans' dependence on Russian gas, which Moscow could use to exert political pressure.

Endorsed the previous day by US President Donald Trump, the American measures "affect German and European companies and constitute interference in our internal affairs", reacted a spokesperson for Angela Merkel.

"The government rejects these extraterritorial sanctions," insisted Ulrike Demmer in a particularly firm position. Germany is the main beneficiary of the project.

An EU spokesperson, for his part, expressed Brussels' opposition "in principle to the imposition of sanctions against European companies engaged in legal activities".

First consequence of these measures: the Swiss company Allseas, which owns the largest pipelaying vessel in the world and was engaged by the Russian group Gazprom to build the offshore section of the pipeline, announced on Saturday the suspension of its works installation of the gas pipeline.

The company said it is now awaiting "regulatory, technical and environmental clarifications from the competent US authorities".

These sanctions, which are part of a large US defense budget law for the 2020 fiscal year, include the freezing of assets and the revocation of US visas for pipeline contractors. The US State Department must now communicate the names of the companies and people concerned within 60 days.

The announcement throws trouble on the future of this gigantic investment of ten billion euros, almost completed and whose entry into service was scheduled for late 2019 or, more likely, early 2020.

Nord Stream 2 has confirmed the suspension of work by Allseas. "With all the companies supporting the project, we will work to finish the pipeline as soon as possible," a company spokesperson said in a statement.

- "Particularly incomprehensible"

Moscow also criticized the establishment of sanctions, attacking "the American ideology (which) does not support the world competition".

"A state with a public debt of 22,000 billion dollars prohibits creditworthy countries from developing their real economy," Russian diplomacy spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Facebook.

"Soon, they will ask that we stop breathing," she said ironically.

More than 80% built, the submarine pipeline connecting Russia to Germany should double direct deliveries of Russian natural gas to Western Europe via Germany.

The United States has also justified its sanctions by its desire to support Kiev, in conflict with Russia since the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the war in eastern Ukraine.

But given the memorandum of understanding signed on Friday between the two protagonists to regulate the transit of Russian gas in Ukraine from 2020, the sanctions appear "particularly incomprehensible," said Demmer on Saturday.

The pipeline represents an investment of around ten billion euros, financed half by Gazprom and the other half by five European companies (OMV, Wintershall Dea, Engie, Uniper and Shell). It was scheduled to enter service in late 2019 or, more likely, early 2020.

Since its inception, many obstacles have stood in the way of this project. Nord Stream 2 only obtained the green light from Denmark at the end of October to cross its waters, which is likely to delay its entry into service, initially scheduled for late 2019.

The new EU gas transport rules, which require in particular the "decoupling" of production and distribution activities, are also a thorn in the side of the project.

© 2019 AFP