European Council President Donald Tusk | EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET Russian pipeline plan draws EU fire Donald Tusk doesn’t think the Russia-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline helps EU gas diversification.

Plans to double the capacity of the Russia-backed Nord Stream gas pipeline to Germany would only serve to consolidate Moscow's grip on the European gas market, European Council President Donald Tusk warned Friday.

Central and Eastern European countries, together with Italy, forced the planned Nord Stream 2 pipeline expansion onto the agenda for the final day of the European Union leaders’ summit in Brussels.

“In my perspective, Nord Stream does not help diversification, nor would it reduce our energy dependence,” Tusk told reporters after the meeting.

Among the leaders challenging the project was Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, according to a diplomatic source. Although Fico cautioned it would be unwise to engage Russia head on, he stressed the importance of protecting Ukraine’s revenues earned for gas delivered across its territory to the EU.

“It doesn’t matter if elephants make love or war, the grass still gets trampled,” the source quoted Fico as saying. The Ukrainian route carries on through Slovakia, which means it also earns transit fees.

Ultimately, the EU's position on the project will depend on the results of the European Commission’s technical and legal analysis, Tusk added.

The concern from Central and Eastern European countries is that the project would strengthen Moscow’s ability to threaten the region. Italy, however, is outraged that the EU blocked Russia’s South Stream pipeline running across the Balkans last year, in which Italy was a shareholder, but that German and other western European companies are now involved with expanding Nord Stream — especially after the EU imposed sanctions against Russia for its annexation of Crimea last year and its support of armed rebels in eastern Ukraine.

For these countries, the aim of the discussion Friday was to put pressure on Germany, which has made little public comment about the project, and draw more attention from the United States, which also opposed the South Stream project, according to an EU source.

It was a “very tough debate, very emotional debate,” Tusk said.

The leaders agreed to emphasize that any infrastructure project built in Europe must comply with the EU's energy union project, which aims to diversify the bloc’s energy supply and routes, as well as other laws.

“We have discussed also the geopolitical context and the problems that it would create for drying up the transit through Ukraine,” Tusk added, noting that Nord Stream 2 would put 80 percent of Russia’s gas exports into one route.

Political, not commercial

Ukraine’s state gas company Naftogaz sees the Nord Stream 2 project as an attempt to financially destabilize the country, CEO Andriy Kobolyev told POLITICO in Brussels before the summit.

“The real argument is political, it’s not commercial. Since Ukraine cannot be defeated in the military way … this is the easiest financial way to make Ukraine financially unstable,” he said.

Gazprom announced the project in September together with Germany’s E.ON and BASF/Wintershall, France’s ENGIE, Austria’s OMV and British-Dutch Shell. Just why Gazprom wanted to add 55 billion cubic meters of capacity to a pipeline operating at half capacity and at a time when the EU doesn’t foresee a spike in gas demand raised questions about Russia’s intentions.

“If you look at Gazprom, at any project, you will immediately notice that Gazprom is the vehicle of the Russian government,” Kobolyev said.

The worry in Kiev is that Russia wants to stop using Ukraine as a transit country after the current contract expires in 2019, something that earns the cash-strapped government $2 billion a year.

“The clear aim of this project is to make sure that Ukraine does not have the financial means to survive as a state,” said Kobolyev.

There is a mixed message coming out of Moscow. On Thursday during his year-end news conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was not sure that Russian gas flows to Europe via Ukraine should end.

“Someone stated during discussions that we should end this transit altogether. I’m not sure whether this is necessary,” he said, according to Russian media.

Tara Palmeri contributed to this article.