Nord Stream 2 AG, which is a subsidiary of Gazprom, lost a lawsuit in the Court of the European Union. She unsuccessfully tried to challenge the directive, which extends the rules of the internal natural gas market to gas pipelines from third countries.
Points of attention
- Changes to the EU gas directive provided for a level playing field for gas transport pipelines connecting member states and third countries.
- Nord Stream 2 AG sought to challenge the separation of the transmission systems from gas production and third-party access to the transmission systems.
- After an unsuccessful appeal, Nord Stream 2 AG continued to invest in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
What is important to know about EU decisions
Journalists pay attention to what is being said about the decision of the official Brussels, which was adopted 5 years later.
According to it, amendments to the so-called "gas directive" were adopted, which aimed to guarantee the identical application of the rules to gas transport pipelines connecting two or more member states and pipelines from third countries.
What is important to understand, in particular, these rules provided for the separation of transportation systems from production and supply systems, as well as third-party access to transportation systems.
However, in the case of pipelines between an EU Member State and a third country, the construction of which was completed before the date of entry into force of the changes, namely 23 May 2019, the directive provided for the possibility of derogating from the rules by the EU Member State where the first connection point of such pipeline with the network of this member state.
What is known about another failure of Nord Stream 2
A subsidiary of the Russian monopolist Gazprom appealed the changes to the EU Court of Justice, which dismissed the claim as inadmissible in a ruling dated May 20, 2020.
Subsequently, it became known that Nord Stream 2 AG filed an appeal to the Court of Justice of the EU.
As recently as 2 years ago, the Court of Justice ruled that the lawsuit filed by Nord Stream 2 AG was partially admissible. Against the background of this decision, the case was returned to the Court of General Jurisdiction for a decision on the merits of the claim, which rejected Nord Stream 2 AG's claim in a new decision.
The court explains that Nord Stream 2 AG continued to invest in its pipeline during a period when it had no certainty that EU law would no longer apply to its pipeline.
In addition, it is emphasized that the fact that the Russian company could not take advantage of this concession did not prevent it from operating the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline and getting a proper return on its investment.
