German Regulator Plans to Deny Nord Stream 2 Waiver Under EU Gas Directive - Reports

BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st May, 2020) The Federal Network Agency of Germany (BNA) is planning to reject an application of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline's operator for exemption under the new EU gas directive and will be admitting reactions from stakeholders by May 8 before making a final decision, German media reported on Friday.

According to the Handelsblatt daily, citing a draft of the regulator's decision, the application will be denied under the directive's requirement that the pipeline in question must be completed before May 2019 for the operator to have ownership rights for its segment located in the German territory.

The BNA has decided that the deadline must apply to the factual completion of all construction and technical works on the pipeline, whereas Nord Stream 2 AG has earlier insisted that the requirement of completion should be interpreted not in terms of actual construction works, but rather the amount of investments poured into construction prior to when the new directive took effect.

The newspaper said the stakeholders expected the Nord Stream 2 operator to dispute the upcoming decision in the Dusseldorf higher court, or Oberlandesgericht, from where it would likely be passed on to the European Court of Justice.