UPDATE: EU ministers approve special N Stream-2 terms discussion

(Adds details in paragraphs 3–5, 7)

BRUSSELS, Jun 26 (PRIME) – E.U. energy ministers have approved the idea of the European Commission to establish a special legal framework for Russian gas pipeline project Nord Stream-2, Vice President for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic said in his Twitter blog on Monday.

“Just presented our proposal on the Nord Stream mandate to E.U. energy ministers. The first debate showed strong support of our approach,” Sefcovic said.

A source with knowledge of the situation told PRIME that E.U. states will continue discussion on whether to give the European Commission a mandate to start negotiations on Nord Stream-2 only in September, after a summer break.

The next meeting where the mandate will be discussed will most probably be held in mid-July.

“A final decision must be prepared by the E.U. representatives in Brussels and by 28 national energy ministries on the technical level,” the source said, adding that the decision making can take several months.

Nord Stream-2 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. Russian gas giant Gazprom is implementing the project together with Engie, OMV, Royal Dutch Shell, Uniper and Wintershall.

The E.U. internal market rules are not applicable for Nord Stream-2 because the pipeline runs under the sea. According to earlier statements by the European Commission, it wants to ensure functional transparency of the pipeline, non-discriminative tariffs, access of third parties to the pipeline capacity and division of the sale and transportation activities.

Operator of the project Nord Stream-2 AG said earlier in a statement that creation of a special legal framework can undermine private investments in the E.U. because it arises from a biased approach to the project.

End