MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The European Commission sent a request to the EU Council on Friday to obtain a mandate to conduct negotiations with Russia to create a special legal framework on the basis of which the future Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline should operate.
"A specific framework just for Nord Stream 2 would discriminate against an individual commercial investment, based on political sentiment. It is unacceptable that among other comparable pipeline projects the European Commission, as the guardian of the EU Treaties, has singled out Nord Stream 2 for a special political treatment. This infringes against the principle of equal treatment, which is a constituting element of the EU Founding Treaties," Nord Stream 2 AG, Gazprom's subsidiary, which operates the project, said in a statement.
On March 30, the operator reiterated that project would proceed in full compliance with the existing legal framework consisting of EU law, intergovernmental conventions and national laws.
Previously, a number of countries called on the EU to oppose Nord Stream 2, alleging the pipeline might increase bloc's dependence on Russian gas and cause geopolitical destabilization, with Ukraine and Poland being the most vocal critics of the project.
Nord Stream 2 is not subject to all the rules of EU internal market, the Third Energy Package, since the pipeline will not pass through the land part of the EU, but will go across the sea. Therefore, the EU expressed its desire to reach an agreement with Russia on a number of key principles that would apply to the work of this gas pipeline, including transparency in its operation, non-discriminatory tariffs for gas pumping, third-party access to the pipeline and separation of gas sale and transportation functions, the Commission said in a letter. It has not announced its actions in case of Russia's refusal to negotiate.
