Germany’s Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) will take into account the opinion of the European Commission when making the final decision on registering Nord Stream 2 AG as an independent transport operator, the agency’s representative told TASS on Friday.
Nord Stream 2 AG is the operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.
The German regulator began to consider the request of Nord Stream 2 AG on September 8. Now it has four months to come up with the draft decision and send it to the European Commission so it can “form a position.”
Only after that, the agency can switch to the final approval of its decision. The European Commission does not have the right of veto but its opinion will be taken into account, the representative said.
“The Federal Network Agency will take into account the position of the European Commission as much as possible, when making the final decision,” the official said.
The certification as an independent transport operator is required under the EU Gas Directive.
Earlier, European Commission coordinating spokesperson Vivian Loonela said that it may take up to two months for Brussels to form the position.
Last week, Gazprom announced that the construction of Nord Stream 2 had been fully completed on the morning of September 10. To start pumping, the project operator should submit certificates of compliance with the technical standards to the mining authority of the German city of Stralsund. The Bundesnetzagentur cannot ban the pumping of gas, but if it starts before the registration is received, the operator will be fined.
