Brussels Economic

The head of the European Council, Donald Tusk, has waded into a dispute over a proposed new pipeline for Russian gas that pits Germany against eastern members of the EU, saying the plan would be harmful to the bloc’s interests.

Poland, the Baltic states and others argue that Nord Stream 2 would increase the European Union’s dependence on Russia’s Gazprom, which already supplies about a third of the bloc’s gas. Supporters say it will mean cheaper gas supplies for Europe.

“You know that my view about this project is negative,” Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister who now chairs summits of EU leaders, wrote in a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday.

“It will not serve the best European interest,” Tusk said in the letter, addressed to Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the executive European Commission which is preparing to negotiate with Russia on the project.