Source: European Parliament’s committee can vote on gas rules Mar

BRUSSELS, Feb 18 (PRIME) -- The European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) will vote for amendments to the Gas Directive, which can hurt Russian gas pipeline projects Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 in March, an E.U. source told PRIME on Monday.

“On March 4 or March 18, there will be only voting, no discussion,” the source said, adding that if the amendments are approved, the document will be submitted for consideration at a plenary session of the European Parliament, which is to vote in April.

The Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) and the Council of the E.U. on the level of ministers must also decide on the directive. If the authorities approve the document, it can be published in the official journal and enter in force 20 days after publication and be implemented in nine months.

The amendments can extend the E.U. Gas Directive rules on the undersea parts of the pipelines going from third countries, including Russia’s Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2.

This means that the pipelines must have an operator independent of Russian gas giant Gazprom, and third parties must receive access to the capacities but only Gazprom can supply gas to the Russian end of the pipeline and is the only company with the right for exports.

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 will implement the project together with Germany’s E.ON and BASF, Royal Dutch Shell, OMV, and France’s Engie.

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