Over the past four years, the European Union, a political entity whose membership largely overlaps with that of NATO, has been importing roughly 40% of its natural gas from the Russian Federation. Such dependency complicated regional responses to Vladimir Putin’s 2014 invasion of the Crimean Peninsula, hindering the ability of Western powers to intervene on part of Ukraine. With this in mind, one would assume that our friends in Europe would be working to wean themselves off reliance on Russian energy. However, some have taken the opposite approach.

Germany, among a handful of other key European states, has decided to phase out its nuclear reactors in favor of new natural gas plants. In addition to this, Europeans have invested billions into the construction of Nord Stream 2, a fuel transport system that begins in Russia, crosses over the Baltic Sea, and delivers natural gas to Germany’s northeastern coast. Despite protests from American policymakers, and perhaps partially because of President Joe Biden’s inability to project American influence, it looks like Nord Stream 2 will be completed. All this serves to entangle the economies of NATO’s member states with that of Russia more deeply, potentially jeopardizing the security of geopolitical flashpoints such as Ukraine and Georgia.