Angela Merkel makes farewell visit to Poland

German Chancellor Angela Merkel tried to soothe fears over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline on Saturday, on a farewell visit to Poland during which she also struck a conciliatory tone on Warsaw’s conflict with the European Union over judicial reforms.

As Merkel’s time as Chancellor draws to a close, the issue of the pipeline from Russia has soured relations with central and eastern European nations, some of them EU members, who say it will increase the bloc’s dependence on Russian gas and could be used by Moscow to exert pressure.

Russia’s Gazprom said on Friday it had finished construction of the pipeline, located in the Baltic Sea, which could allow it to bypass political foe Ukraine, cutting off a source of billions of dollars in gas transit fees for Kyiv.


Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Ukraine must show goodwill if it wants to continue. “I made clear that it is our concern that Ukraine will remain a transit land for Russian gas,” Merkel said during a joint press conference with Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki.

Morawiecki said making sure gas still transits through Ukraine despite the introduction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will lower the chance of “blackmail” from Russia. Poland and Hungary are embroiled in a long-running row with the European Union over issues including judicial independence, press freedoms and LGBT rights.