European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker embraces Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany | Daniel Kopatsch/EPA

Juncker: Ready to act ‘within a matter of days’ on Russian sanctions

‘America first cannot mean that Europe’s interests come last,’ Commission President says.

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7/26/17, 1:18 PM CET

Updated 7/26/17, 4:03 PM CET

The European Commission said today it “will act swiftly” if the U.S. adopts new sanctions against Russia that harm the European Union’s energy security.

EU commissioners discussed the U.S. plans this morning after the House of Representatives passed a draft bill on Tuesday that could trigger sanctions for European companies contributing to the development, maintenance, modernization or repair of Russian energy export pipelines.

Amendments to the bill last week narrowed the range of European projects that could be affected, but the Commission said it is still concerned the sanctions could interfere with the delivery of energy to the EU.

“The U.S. bill could have unintended unilateral effects that impact the EU’s energy security interests,” Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said. “If our concerns are not taken into account sufficiently, we stand ready to act appropriately within a matter of days. America first cannot mean that Europe’s interests come last.”

Juncker’s cabinet gave a similar warning in an internal note to commissioners last week, which stressed the impact the measures could have on European energy companies and outlined a three-pronged mitigation approach to the sanctions.

The U.S. House of Representative voted 419 to 3 in favor of the bill, which also includes sanctions on Iran and North Korea. The Senate is expected to soon follow suit, after which President Donald Trump would have to approve or veto it.

Authors:
Anca Gurzu 

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