The consortium developing the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has filed a notice seeking arbitration over its dispute with the European Commission over EU gas rules, considering that the European Union is breaching its obligations under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).
In July 2019, Nord Stream 2 already brought an action for annulment before the General Court of the European Union, claiming that the Directive (EU) 2019/692 amending the EU Gas Directive infringed the EU law principles of equal treatment and proportionality, discouraging the pipeline project. The Directive requires gas pipelines not to be owned directly by gas suppliers and to make render available to third parties at least 10% of capacity. According to the European Commission, this rule applies to all pipelines used to import gas into the European market and completed before the entry into force of the Directive (May 2019) and is fully compatible with the EU's international obligations.
The €9.5bn (US$11bn) Nord Stream 2 project is developed by Gazprom (50%), Uniper, Shell, OMV, Wintershall and Engie (10% each) and is aimed at doubling the throughput of the current Nord Stream route between Vyborg (Russia) and Greifswald (Germany), from 55 bcm/year to 110 bcm/year. The gas pipeline project has been approved in Finland, Sweden, Germany and Russia and is already under construction in Germany with the aim to flow first gas by the end of 2019.