A local TV short documentary argued that the Nord Stream II project should be finalized by 2019. I cannot find information to support this, but Wikipedia mentions that its construction has begun in 2018 and it is slowly progressing:
On 31 January 2018, Germany granted Nord Stream 2 a permit for construction and operation in German waters and landfall areas near Lubmin. In May 2018 construction started at the Greifswald end point. By September 2018, 18 miles of the underwater pipeline construction were completed.
Forbes argues that this project is very problematic to Ukraine since it would diminish its importance in gas transportation from Russia to European Union countries:
Ukraine is Russia’s gateway into European gas markets. Of the 193 billion cubic meters (bcm) Russia’s state-owned Gazprom pumped westward in 2017 – nearly 40 percent of Europe’s total supply – 93 bcm transited via Ukraine. Moscow, however, wants to change that, diminishing Ukraine’s transit role. Kyiv, on the other hand, hopes to maintain the current arrangement, as transit revenues contribute some USD 2-3 billion annually to the Ukrainian economy (roughly 3 percent of GDP) and act as a buffer against further Russian aggression.
On the other hand, Ukraine-EU relations seem to quite tight:
Relations between the European Union (EU) and Ukraine are shaped through the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA). Ukraine is a priority partner within the Eastern Partnership and the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The EU is seeking an increasingly close relationship with Ukraine, going beyond co-operation, to gradual economic integration and deepening of political co-operation
I am wondering how does EU ensures political consistency between Nord Stream II and its relationship with Ukraine since they seem to be contradictory.
Question: How does Nord Stream II project fit with Ukraine-EU relationship?
