Germany stands up to protect "Nord Stream - 2"
Draft amendments to the EU Gas Directive regarding the Nord Stream 2 project are contrary to European and international law, according to Germany's legal conclusion.
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| Construction of Nord Stream 2. Photo: Nord Stream 2 |
The European Commission's proposals include the possibility of extending European energy legislation standards to gas pipelines from third countries to Europe.
Officials could be given the power to require separation of supplier and transit functions, or allow third parties to participate in the pipeline.
In a document sent to Brussels, as reported by Vedomosti, Berlin rejected the possible innovations, as they were only intended to regulate one infrastructure project, while other projects were considered as exceptional cases.
The EC has not provided clear explanations and arguments to demonstrate the positive effect in achieving the objectives of the energy union. The German authorities are convinced that there is absolutely no need to amend the document.
What particularly worries Germany is the preconditions being created, thanks to which the European Commission has a monopoly on regulating the domestic gas market, although so far the area of intergovernmental agreements has been the competence of individual EU countries.
