Report: Germany not to exempt Nord Stream-2 from EU directive

BERLIN/MOSCOW, May 6 (PRIME) -- Germany's Federal Network Agency (BNA) plans to turn down an application of Russian gas pipeline project Nord Stream-2 to exempt the project from the rules of the new E.U. gas directive because it cannot be finished before May 2019, Handelsblatt reported on May 1.

A spokesperson for Nord Stream AG, the operator of the project, said that the company disagrees with the decision and will be protecting its rights. "We have information provided by German ruler BNA to the participants of the procedure. We disagree with the conclusion," the official said.

The German government said in a statement that Berlin will not retaliate to the U.S. sanctions against Nord Stream-2, although it opposes exterritorial sanctions, including the sanctions against the pipeline.

The Nord Stream-2 project envisages construction of two lines of a natural gas pipeline with an annual capacity of up to 55 billion cubic meters, running from the Russian shore to Germany under the Baltic Sea. Gazprom is implementing the project together with Germany’s E.ON and BASF, Royal Dutch Shell, Austria’s OMV, and France’s Engie.

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