Russia has been trying to launch Nord Stream 2 for a number of years. In the meantime, Europe and the United States are benefiting from its drawn-out construction. Sometimes it might seem like the Americans and Europeans rather than the Russians are building a transport link for Russian gas.
Nord Stream 2 is often used as a pretty compelling argument in negotiations between the EU and US authorities. The recently imposed US sanctions against the pipeline forced the European Union to speed up the adoption of "a communiqué on measures to strengthen the financial and economic sovereignty of the EU". Whereas previously such a document raised questions from the allies, now this response to the US sanctions seems to be quite fair. The American punitive measures constitute a serious interference in European energy security. Against this background, the project is likely to be adopted by the end of the year. According to the EU, the document will prepare "the ground for the adoption of an enhanced sanctions mechanism that will improve Europe’s resilience to the effects of extra-territorial sanctions imposed by third countries."
Looking back on the timeline, in late 2019, the White House slapped sanctions on the whole project, including Allseas, the Swiss company laying the pipes for Nord Stream 2. As a result, the firm refused to cooperate with Russia. This was another reason why the completion of the project was postponed again, to the turn of 2020-2021.
