In 2019, Nord Stream 2 AG - the operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea, led by oil and gas giant Gazprom - appealed to the European court to overturn the new EU rules on gas transportation.
Bloomberg reported that Nord Stream 2 had won the first leg of the legal battle after the EU's highest court accepted the appeal.
Previously, in a 2019 appeal, the pipeline operator stated that the change in EU gas law was drafted and approved with the aim of causing disadvantages for those implementing the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
The EU gas reform law imposes within-cious Europe's rules on prices, third-party infrastructure approaches, and separation of operations between suppliers and operators for gas pipelines from an external country (specifically from Russia).
The Nord Stream 2 project - led by Gazprom and linked with European contractors Wintershall and Uniper of Germany, Dutch Shell, Engie of France and OMV of Austria - does not meet the above rules. In early March 2019, more than 800km of a total of 1,200km of gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany were built.
After a failed attempt to find a mediation deal with the European Commission, Nord Stream 2 AG decided to take legal action. The European court of first instance in 2020 dismissed Nord Stream 2 AG's claims as unacceptable.
On July 12, 2022, the European Union's court of Justice - the highest court in charge of handling issues related to the organization's legal issues - issued its latest verdict, saying the court of first instance was wrong to claim that Nord Stream 2 AG had no direct involvement in the controversial law. The Court of Justice returned the case to the European Court of First Instance to make a decision on the content of the lawsuit.
Although the ruling benefits Nord Stream 2, the impact of the ruling at the present time may be meaningless. Russia's military campaign in Ukraine has prompted Germany to withdraw support for the project.
Nord Stream 2 is designed to double the capacity of gas transportation to 55 billion cubic meters per year from Russian gas fields to Europe via the Baltic Sea. The pipeline has been a major source of disruption in transatlantic relations for several years.
Nord Stream 2 has been under construction since September 2021 and is ready to start gas transit from December 2021. Approval by the German energy authority and EU officials was the final hurdle for the project, but Germany rejected the license in February this year. Therefore, Nord Stream 2 has not yet been put into operation.
In May, Russian oil and gas giant Gazprom said it would use part of Nord Stream 2's infrastructure to serve domestic customers. Gazprom plans to use Nord Stream 2's inland facilities in Russia to expand supply to customers in the northwest of the country.
