Germany removed the last remaining obstacles on Tuesday 27 March to the construction and operation of the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream-2, which has caused great controversy in the EU, in its territorial waters.
Basing its decision on its environmental and commercial impact study, the German Federal Navigation and Hydrography Agency approved all the permits for laying a 31-kilometre section of the pipeline in its exclusive economic zone in the Baltic Sea.
Welcoming the green light given by the German authorities, the Nord Stream consortium, which is responsible for the construction of the pipeline, said it hoped the Nord Stream-2 project would be granted the final permits from Russia, Finland, Sweden and Denmark “in the coming months”.
The Nord Stream-2 project has been the source of a fierce struggle between the European Commission and Russia. It is envisaged that the pipeline will double the capacity of the Nord Stream-1 pipeline which has been in service since 2002 and to transport more Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic thus avoiding Ukraine.
Germany and the project constructor, the Russian gas group Gazprom, continue to justify the purely commercial nature of the project by the expected increase in European demand in the future.
In response to the outcry the project has provoked in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe since it was announced at the end of 2015, the Commission has been at pains to ensure that Nord Stream-2 conforms in every respect with EU law and with EU interests in energy security.
It initially submitted a mandate to the countries of the EU in June 2017 to negotiate with Russia on the legal framework for the operation of Nord Stream-2 in order to ensure that the functioning of the offshore and coastal sections of the pipeline are in line with international and EU law (see EUROPE 11805).
To get round the Council deadlock on its draft mandate, in November 2017 the Commission proposed an amendment to the 2009 gas directive to clarify the regulatory framework for gas pipelines entering the EU from third countries and regulate Nord Stream-2 (see EUROPE 11900).
The amendment seeks to signal unequivocally that the principles of EU energy law (third party access to the network, pricing rules, ownership unbundling, transparency) will apply to all gas pipelines to and from third countries right to the edge of the EU border.
While discussions on the amendment are dragging on in the Council, MEPs want to take a tougher line on exemptions to EU law for gas pipelines from third countries (see EUROPE 11986). (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)