The owner of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline controlled by Gazprom Group has sued the European Union (EU) at the EU High Court, requesting the cancellation of binding regulations on ending Russian gas imports, according to a public document shared by the media this week.
This year, the EU has passed a law stipulating that it will completely stop importing Russian gas by the end of 2027, in order to cut off energy relations with the country that was once the largest supplier of Europe.
This ban also extinguishes hopes of restoring the Nord Stream system - including 2 pipelines of Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines of Nord Stream 2 in the Baltic Sea. The Nord Stream system is built by Russian state-owned gas corporation Gazprom to transport a total of 110 billion m3 of gas per year to Germany.
The explosion in August 2022 damaged both pipelines. Russia accuses Ukraine of being behind the attack. Kiev denies all accusations.
In a lawsuit filed with the EU High Court, Nord Stream 2 AG, based in Switzerland - the owner of the pipeline of the same name and owned by Gazprom - requested the cancellation of the EU ban. The company argues that this measure actually means the confiscation of the pipeline.
The plaintiff argues that this regulation has in fact deprived them of the opportunity to exploit the pipeline commercially. That is equivalent to the act of collecting assets in reality without any compensation" - the document stated.
Nord Stream 2 was completed in 2021, but Germany suspended the project right before the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February 2022. This pipeline never went into operation. Meanwhile, Nord Stream 1 has supplied gas to Germany for more than a decade.
The EU passed a ban on Russian gas under a legal mechanism that only requires the majority of member countries to ratify. This move is designed to overcome opposition from Hungary and Slovakia.
In the lawsuit, Nord Stream 2 AG argued that the ban on Russian gas is actually a punitive measure, so it must receive the consensus of all EU member states.
Choosing an inappropriate legal basis makes this regulation invalid" - the lawsuit of the Nord Stream 2 management company stated clearly.
The lawsuit was filed on April 27 and was announced in the EU's official announcement last week.
After the 2022 explosions, only 1 branch of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline remains intact. In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the pipeline could begin transporting gas "from tomorrow".
Before 2022, about 40% of EU gas imports came from Russia. This rate decreased to about 13% last year.
