- Title: Merkel opposes U.S. sanctions against Nord Stream 2
- Date: 18th December 2019
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (DECEMBER 18, 2019) (REUTERS) MERKEL TALKING
- Embargoed: 1st January 2020 13:58
- Keywords: Bundestag CO2 emissions EU levels German Chancellor Angela Merkel Huawei Nord Stream 2 climate lawmakers parliament question and answer session sanctions
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Lawmaking,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00ABAI56X3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that she favoured expanding the system of carbon emissions trading at EU level.
"The (European Commission) president - and that is touched on in the Green Deal - says the Commission is thinking about expanding emissions trading and I have already told her that I would really support that because I think it would be better if we had an EU-wide trading system, including for transport and buildings," she told the Bundestag lower house of parliament.
A committee mediating between the upper and lower houses of parliament in Germany has agreed on a carbon dioxide emissions price of 25 euros per tonne from 2021 onwards for transport and heating, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
Asked about Huawei, Merkel said she had not been told about the Chinese authorities making any threats of retaliation if Germany were to exclude Huawei from its 5G rollout.
China's ambassador to Germany indicated last week that China could retaliate if Huawei was excluded, pointing to the millions of cars that German automakers sell in his country.
Merkel also said she opposed U.S. sanctions on companies building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline because they have extraterritorial effect.
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed legislation to slap sanctions on companies building the massive underwater pipeline to bring Russian natural gas to Germany, but it was uncertain whether the measures would slow completion of the project.
(Production: Deutscher Bundestag, Martin Schlicht, Michele Sani, Ute Swart) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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