US to create $1B fund for European energy projects, countering Russia influence – By Conor Finnegan (ABC News) / Dec 18 2019
But the bill’s author expressed concern Trump may stand in the way.
The U.S. is set to create a new $1 billion fund for energy projects in Europe and Eurasia to free countries like Ukraine from Russian energy dependence, which American lawmakers say Moscow uses to exert a malignant influence across the region.
The program, created with bipartisan support by Congress, dovetails with new sanctions on two Russian pipeline projects to Europe, while the Senate weighs even further penalties on Moscow.
But it may face headwinds from President Donald Trump, who continues to try to improve ties with Russia and increase trade and economic exchange. Just last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo promised “significant announcements about economic efforts” with Russia soon.
Workers prepare a metal pipeline aboard the Solitaire ship to be installed in the Finnish Gulf, 125 miles west of St. Petersburg, on Sept. 20, 2010. AFP via Getty Images, FILE
While the Trump administration has been supportive of the bill, Trump’s browbeating of NATO allies and deep disapproval of him in Europe have raised questions in European capitals about the U.S., with leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron calling for stronger European unity.
“We’re trying to find new and inventive ways to alter the reality in Europe, which is an America that is increasingly totally and completely irrelevant,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who co-sponsored the bill, told ABC News Wednesday.
Continue to article: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-create-1b-fund-european-energy-projects-countering/story?id=67806891&cid=clicksource_4380645_null_headlines_hed
