MOSCOW, June 17. /TASS/. The operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline construction project, Nord Stream 2 AG, appealed on June 15 against a decision of the Federal Network Agency of Germany with the Higher Regional Court of Dusseldorf, the company told TASS.

"Nord Stream 2 AG insists that the pipeline was completed on May 23, 2019, in terms of economic functionality. Based on the legal framework in force at that time, the company made an irrevocable investment of several billion euro long before the European Commission announced its plan to amend the Gas Directive," the operator said.

On May 15, the Federal Network Agency of Germany refused Nord Stream 2 AG in exempting the Nord Stream 2 project from the rules of the updated EU Gas Directive. "The Bundesnetzagentur has today rejected the application of Nord Stream 2 AG for derogation from regulation for the section of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline located in German territory," the statement reads.

The agency noted that the necessary condition for removing the pipeline from the rules of the updated Gas Directive was its implementation before May 23, 2019. "Since the Nord Stream 2 pipeline had not been fully laid by 23 May 2019, the Bundesnetzagentur has rejected the application for derogation made by Nord Stream 2 AG. When it is put into operation, therefore, Nord Stream 2 will be subject to German regulatory requirements and European rules on unbundling, network access, and cost regulation," the report said.

The Nord Stream 2 project includes the construction of two pipelines with a total capacity of 55 bln cubic meters per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. To date, 93% of Nord Stream 2 has been finished.

The project implementation was stalled at the end of December 2019 when, due to US sanctions, Swiss company Allseas stopped construction of the gas pipeline. CEO of Gazprom Alexey Miller said that the pipeline would be completed. In January 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that before the end of this year or in the first quarter of next year, work will be complete and the gas pipeline will be commissioned.