MOSCOW, August 25. /TASS/. Nord Stream 2 AG has taken note of the decision of the Dusseldorf Higher Regional Court not to exempt Nord Stream 2 from the EU Gas Directive and will assess it, a source in the press service of the project’s operator told TASS.
"Nord Stream 2 AG company has taken note of the court ruling and will assess it. We will announce our next steps in due course," the company said.
Bloomberg agency reported earlier that Nord Stream 2 AG lost a German court fight on Wednesday to relieve Nord Stream 2 from the requirements of the EU Gas Directive.
Last May Germany’s Federal Network Agency refused to grant relief from requirements of the revised EU Gas Directive in a request dated January 10, 2020. The agency was guided by the fact that the gas pipeline allegedly failed to conform to the necessary requirement as its construction did not meet the deadline, meaning by May 23, 2019.
On the contrary, Nord Stream 2 AG noted that the term ‘completion of the project’ should be considered more broadly, rather than simply from the viewpoint of construction and technical processes. The company believes that it should be taken into account that investments worth billions had been made before the new rules took force considering the previous legal situation. The German agency rejects this fact. It proceeds from ‘construction and technical meaning’ of the term ‘completion of the project’.
The rejection of the waiver application demonstrates a discriminating influence of the revised EU Gas Directive, Nord Stream 2 AG stressed, adding that the company is subject to unlawful discrimination.
The company’s appeals against amendments at the European Court regarding the agreement to the Energy Charter is currently pending, the press service of the Nord Stream 2 operator added.
Nord Stream 2 project
It was reported at the end of July that Nord Stream 2 was 99% complete, with the Fortuna barge continuing to work on the final section. The first string of the pipeline was completed in June 2021. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on August 20 that the construction of the gas pipeline was nearing completion, and only 15 km of it remained to be laid by sea.
The Nord Stream 2 project envisages 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. The works were suspended in December 2019 after the Swiss Allseas abandoned pipe-laying due to possible US sanctions. In December 2020, the construction of the pipeline resumed.