German Court Ruling on Nord Stream 2 Disrupts Kremlin’s Plans

The Supreme Land Court of Düsseldorf delivered a judgment on a complaint filed by Nord Steam 2 and ruled that the pipeline must comply with the European Union’s gas directive. Thus, the Nord Stream 2 operator should become independent of the Russian monopoly Gazprom. In addition, 50% of the pipeline capacities should be available to other suppliers.

As noted by Lana Zerkal, an adviser to Ukraine’s energy minister, the German court’s ruling will not stop plans to build and launch the pipeline but will force Russia to play by European rules.

“There will be no exceptions: the door is closing. Nord Stream 2 will not be exempt from the requirements of the EU gas directive … What does it mean? The supply and transportation of gas through the pipe must be separated, that is, the unbundling, familiar to us, must take place. It also means that free competition and prevention of market access abuse are not empty words for the EU and they are ready to uphold fair and just rules of the game,” Zerkal stressed.

She added that Gazprom would have to share, so the judgment “has already disrupted the Kremlin’s plans.”

The adviser to the minister also noted that the Ukrainian authorities continued to work actively to close the “door of unlimited opportunities” to Gazprom forever.

At the same time, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal reiterated that Ukraine’s stance on the Russian gas pipeline remained unchanged. Nord Stream 2 is a Russian political project that poses a threat to both Ukraine and Europe.

Bohdan Marusyak