(Read the full article on TASS.RU)

The Dusseldorf court rejected the complaint of Nord Stream AG and did not begin to withdraw the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from the renewed EU Gas Directive. This is stated in the message, which was distributed by the court on Wednesday. Earlier, this information in response to a TASS request was confirmed by the spokesman for the court’s press service Peter Schütz.

“The panel of judges, which is responsible for litigation in the field of energy, rejected the complaint of Nord Stream 2 AG,” the message says. The plaintiff is now eligible to file a claim with the Federal Supreme Court.

In particular, we are talking about the rules that imply the separation of activities for the production and transportation of gas. According to the document, the producing company cannot simultaneously own the pipeline through which its gas is delivered.

Reaction of the project operator

Nord Stream 2 AG took note of the decision of the FRG court not to exempt Nord Stream 2 from the provisions of the EU Gas Directive, and will evaluate it, the press service of the project operator said.

Nord Stream 2 AG tried to challenge the decision of the German Federal Network Agency. In May last year, this regulator denied the operator an exemption from the requirements of the updated EU Gas Directive on an application dated January 10, 2020. The federal agency was guided by the fact that the gas pipeline allegedly did not meet the required criterion – it was not completed by the required date, that is, by May 23, 2019.

Nord Stream 2 AG, for its part, pointed out that the concept of “project completion” should be considered broader than just construction and technical processes. According to the company, one should take into account the fact that by the time the new rules came into force, billions of dollars in investments had already been made, taking into account the previous legal situation.

The German agency rejected this argument, and the Dusseldorf court now took its side: “Today’s decision confirms that it is the construction and technical aspect that should be taken into account. The pipeline was not fully built and, from the point of view of the law, not completed.” The interpretation insisted on by the plaintiff cannot be admissible “from the point of view of constitutional and European law.” The correct interpretation of the operator should be considered, which indicates “completion from a physical point of view”.

The court’s decision has nothing to do with the construction and commissioning process of Nord Stream 2, which should be completed this year.

The press service of the Nord Stream 2 operator recalled that the company’s complaints about the amendments are currently being considered in the European Court of Justice in accordance with the Energy Charter Treaty.

The essence of the updated directive

The basic requirement of the EU’s third energy package is unbundling. It implies the need to divide European energy corporations into structures that are engaged in the extraction, generation and trade of energy resources, on the one hand, and independent operators of energy transportation systems (pipelines, power lines, etc.), on the other.

The revised Gas Directive was agreed in record time early last year. The essence of the changes made to it is to extend to pipelines passing in the maritime economic zone of the EU countries the norms of the third energy package of the community, which oblige the operator to reserve up to 50% of the gas pipeline capacity for pumping fuel from alternative suppliers.

Meanwhile, the question of applying the revised Gas Directive remains open. Although the amendments themselves entered into force in June 2018, many EU countries did not have time to take them into account in their national legislation, which opens up wide opportunities for challenging their application in court.

About the project

At the end of July, it was reported that Nord Stream 2 was 99% complete, and the Fortuna barge continues to work at the final section. The first string of the pipeline was completed in June this year. On August 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the construction of the gas pipeline was nearing completion, and 15 km of it remained to be laid by sea.