Following the settlement of the Franco-German dispute over the „Nord Stream 2“ gas pipeline, the EU states have agreed on a common position for the revision of the European Gas Directive. As the Romanian Council Presidency announced today on Twitter, there is thus a mandate for negotiations with the EU Parliament. According to diplomats, a German-French compromise proposal found almost unanimous support.
The French Foreign Ministry said yesterday that unlike Germany, Paris wants to vote for tightening the rules for third-party pipelines. This could have had consequences for the Baltic Sea pipeline „Nord Stream 2“ and possibly made the project uneconomic.
Germany and France then agreed today on a joint proposal to reform the directive. According to him, the responsibility for pipelines with third countries such as Russia in the EU country, where the line for the first time on the European network. In the case of Nord Stream 2 that would be Germany.
Germany becomes main distributor
„Nord Stream 2“ is to transport Russian gas through the Baltic Sea to Germany from the end of 2019. Germany would thereby become the main distributor of Russian natural gas in Western Europe, while Poland and Ukraine would be weakened as transit countries for gas supplies.
