Blinken Visits Brussels 22-25 Mar For NATO Meeting Amid Nordstream 2 Row

Wires and social media reporting that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will travel to Brussels, Belgium for the first NATO foreign ministers meeting of 2021. The NATO meeting takes place over 23-24 March.

• Blinken's trip also coincides with the European Council summit of EU member state leaders due to take place 25-26 March.
• Aside from the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, one of the subjects of debate in the EUCO summit is the EU's stance towards Russia.
• The US is currently placing heavy pressure on the EU and EU member states to take a harder stance against Russia, with the State Dep't mulling the imposition of sanctions on entities involved in the construction of the Nord Stream II gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. On 18 March Blinken stated ""The Department reiterates its warning that any entity involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline risks U.S. sanctions and should immediately abandon work on the pipeline," A CNBC article from the same day identified the following European companies as having provided financing to Nord Stream II: "Germany's Uniper and Wintershall Dea, France's Engie, Austria's OMV and the Netherlands' Shell."
• The broad array of major O&G and engineering firms from powerful EU players could see a row erupt over the imposition of sanctions, should the threat come to frutition.
• Relations between the US and Germany in particular run the risk of remaining in the doldrums. Of the two candidates likely to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel following the September federal election, CDU Chair Armin Laschet is seen as one of Russia's closest allies in mainstream German politics, while CSU head Markus Soeder is an unknown quantity in terms of foreign affairs and as such could be seen as a potential loose cannon on Russian affairs in Washington, D.C.