Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz made a request on Wednesday 1 March to the General Court of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the competent court in this kind of legal action, for leave to intervene in the case initiated by Polish gas company PGNiG challenging the European Commission decision at the end of 2016 to allow Russian company Gazprom to increase its use of the capacity of the OPAL gas pipeline, enabling it to deliver more gas through the Nord Stream pipeline.
According to the statute of the CJEU, a legal entity may join a case before the CJEU where it can establish an interest in the result of that case. Naftogaz has applied for intervention with reference to the court’s previous jurisprudence and the “potential negative consequences” of the European Commission’s decision for the company, namely decreases in natural gas transit through Ukraine, a threat to the stability of gas supplies to Ukraine because of possible interruption of gas flows from Poland, and impaired competitive position of Naftogaz, and unexpected change in regulatory and market conditions for the company. Naftogaz hopes to be able to present additional arguments and gain access to the case files.
PGNiG brought an action before the CJEU on 4 December 2016 (see EUROPE 11682) against the European Commission’s decision of 28 October 2016 (see EUROPE 11657) authorising Gazprom to use more capacity in the German OPAL pipeline which connects with the German-Russian Nord Stream pipeline under the Baltic Sea and runs the length of Germany’s eastern border as far south as the Czech Republic. Following the lodging of the action, the CJEU, on 23 December 2016, suspended the Commission decision. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)