EU drafts law to regulate Nord Stream 2

The European Parliament’s industry committee voted in favor of the European Commission draft which would extend the bloc’s laws to offshore gas pipelines such as the planned Nord Stream 2 gas link between Germany and Russia. According to MEP Jerzy Buzek, one of the law’s proponents, the new law would create greater long-term investment predictability and improve competition. “Far too often, gas supply has been used as a political weapon. We cannot disarm the impure intentions of others but we can arm ourselves with full legal clarity and consistency of existing legislation,” he said. Under the current law, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline would be under Russian Gazprom control. The Commission last year proposed the changes to its gas directive to make all import pipelines subject to rules that require they not be owned directly by gas suppliers, apply non-discriminatory tariffs and make capacity available to third parties. The draft endorsed by Parliament calls for European Union economic sanctions against third countries to be taken into account and any exemption for pipelines to be limited to five years and decided with the input of the Commission and affected member states. The proposed gas link would connect Russia and Germany through Baltic, circumventing Ukraine, which many sees as the next step of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which has caused the EU to put sanctions against Russia. Some EU diplomats hope that by giving the Commission mandate to negotiate, the project would be delayed, depriving Russia of the leverage in talks with Kiev regarding transit fees. The current deal expires in 2019. The majority of Russian gas sent to the EU goes through Ukraine.