Editor’s Note:

On April 30, the European Parliament passed a resolution saying: if Russia invades Ukraine, Russia will be cut off from the SWIFT system of international payments. A Belgian ‘cooperative society’ based near Brussels, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication can only ignore the EuroParl at its peril. If Germany really wants to allay EU and Ukrainian fears about Nord Stream 2, the Bundestag could pass a similar law. If Russian troops cross the Ukraine’s real and de facto borders, Berlin will cut off the gas. In an emergency, Germany can plug the pipe. But the legal foundation has to be put in place. With Best Regards, Jim Brooke