Even the courts will no longer be able to stop Nord Stream 2

No matter how surprised the representatives of Nord Stream 2 AG portrayed on the faces of the decision made on August 25 by the Supreme Land Court of Dusseldorf, another result was hardly possible. However, even the courts will not be able to stop the completion of the controversial Nord Stream 2 (SP-2) pipeline, writes the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

If the court exempted the said gas pipeline from fulfilling the norms of the EU gas directive, then the European Commission would intervene in the issue, from which they announced the next day that they would certainly appeal against such a decision. The requirements of the EU gas directive apply to SP-2 because the construction of the pipeline was not completed until 23 May 2019 (entry into force of the document).



At the same time, the SP-2 operator continues to talk about "illegal discrimination" and is going to challenge the decision in the Supreme Federal Court of Germany. In addition, the SP-2 operator will try to challenge the EU gas directive itself in the European Court - a decision on this issue should be made in 2022. Moreover, on the basis of the Energy Charter, the SP-2 operator claims compensation for costs in arbitration.

As a result, SP-2 will still have to fulfill all three key requirements of the EU gas directive: to grant access to the "pipe" to other gas suppliers; collect from them a fee for using the gas pipeline only at prices permitted by the Federal Network Agency of Germany; strictly distinguish between companies supplying gas and companies transporting it.

In June, Nord Stream 2 AG applied to the German Federal Network Agency for certification as an "independent transport network operator". The regulator has four months to verify the application, after the necessary documents are provided, which has not yet been done. The German Federal Network Agency may agree with Nord Stream 2 AG's arguments, but EC officials are unlikely to agree. They believe that this issue cannot be resolved without the sale of SP-2.

The EC cannot outright prohibit certification. The German Federal Network Agency is not subject to the EC and can only take into account the EC's opinion. However, the EC has the right to file a lawsuit against Germany for violations of the agreement if the German regulator deviates too much from the requirements.

A more significant threat to SP-2 is posed by the German Ministry of Economy. It is this department that should assess whether or not there is any danger from the gas pipeline for Germany and the EU. Only after the conclusion of this department, which is being done for three months, the Federal Network Agency of Germany will be able to issue a certificate of SP-2. Therefore, it is important for SP-2 to receive this document before the elections to the Bundestag this fall, since there is a high probability that the Ministry of Economy of the Federal Republic of Germany will end up in the hands of the Green Party.

All of the above bureaucratic actions will also not have any impact on the completion of the gas pipeline. However, as well as the fact that gas through this pipeline from Russia to Germany may begin to flow as early as 2021. SP-2 can itself challenge the decisions of the German departments and while the proceedings are being conducted, calmly supply gas, the media summed up.