Relations With US In Spotlight As Sen. Cruz Targets Nord Stream II

Relations between Germany and the US could come under some strain in the near future should US Senator Ted Cruz's (R-TX) bill, intended to impose sanctions on the Nord Stream II natural gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, be passed. The US Senate is set to vote on the bill this week. Its passage remains unlikely due to the 60-vote hurdle in place, but there is the non-negligible prospect that it does pass with the help of Russia hawks in the Democratic party.

• From Germany's perspective, Nord Stream II is already causing notable political unrest within Chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition. Scholz's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) - who sat as junior partners in previous Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition - are in favour of the pipeline's certification and operation. However, the second-largest party in the federal coalition, the environmentalist Greens, are opposed.
• Should Cruz's bill pass, it could result in some friction between Berlin and Washington, D.C. at a time when both sides are seeking to present a united front in the face of heightened tensions on the Russo-Ukrainian border.
• The SPD and Greens are less inclined to instinctively seek closer relations with the US in comparison to the smallest party in gov't, the liberal Free Democrats, or the opposition centre-right Christian Democratic Union, but Scholz himself is viewed as a committed Atlanticist. This stance could come under strain should the bill pass.