Killing the Israeli-European Gas Pipeline

Several readers have wondered how it could happen that the Biden administration could have the power to force the cancellation of a pipeline project that would have delivered Israeli natural gas to Europe. 

And yet, Legal Insurrection reported two months ago that Biden had done just that. Given that Biden has systematically undermined Trump administration policy toward Israel-- to the detriment of Israel-- no one should have been surprised.

Apparently, the project, like the Nordstream 2 pipeline required American support:

The Biden White House has withdrawn U.S. support from a pipeline project designed to deliver Israeli natural gas to Europe, reversing a decision taken by President Donald Trump’s administration.

The 1,180-mile undersea pipeline project from Israel to southern Europe, set to be completed by 2025, will ease Europe’s dependence on Russia and Turkey. These two countries have a stranglehold on the continent’s energy supply.

“The United States is no longer supporting the construction of EastMed gas pipeline project as Washington’s interest is now switching to renewable energy sources, according to a State Department statement,” the Euractiv, a Brussels based news website, reported recently.

Of course, the administration claimed that it was now supporting renewable energies, even though, as you know, nothing burns cleaner than natural gas.

And yet, the truth seems to be that Biden felt a need to bend over for Turkish autocrat Recep Erdogan:

By rescinding the U.S. backing for the Israel-Europe pipeline, the Biden administration is bowing down to the pressure from Turkey’s Erdogan regime, which has been angered for being left out of the lucrative energy project. “Several Greek media reported that Joe Biden’s move politically winks at Turkey, who since the beginning has opposed the EastMed deal as it was bypassing it,” the European news outlet noted.

Erdogan welcomed the Biden administration’s move, reinforcing his position as a power player in Europe. The Turkish president thuggishly declared that any future eastern Mediterranean “gas project must include Turkey,” the Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported. “This business cannot be done without Turkey. Because if [gas] is to be transferred to Europe from here, it will only happen through Turkey,” Erdogan said Tuesday.

And, of course, Russia counted as yet another beneficiary of the cancellation:

Vladimir Putin’s Russia is another beneficiary of President Biden’s decision. Moscow is about to finish 760-mile Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will allow direct Russian gas supply to Germany and other western European countries. More than 40 percent of gas exported to European Union countries comes from Russia.

Consider yourself better informed on the matter. One would like to think that Israel and Europe could build a gas pipeline without American support, but apparently such is not the case.