Nord Stream 2 owner challenges EU gas import ban in court

The legal challenge targets the EU's decision to mandate a complete halt to Russian gas imports by 2027, a policy implemented following the invasion of Ukraine. Nord Stream 2 AG argues the regulation effectively strips the company of its ability to utilize the pipeline for commercial purposes. Beyond the claims of expropriation, the lawsuit asserts that the EU employed an incorrect legal basis to pass the ban. While the regulation required only a reinforced majority to overcome resistance from nations like Hungary and Slovakia, the plaintiff maintains that such a measure carries the weight of a sanction and therefore demanded unanimous approval from all member states.

Built to deliver 110 billion cubic meters of gas annually, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was completed in 2021 but never entered service, as Germany suspended the project shortly before the 2022 invasion. Subsequent underwater explosions in August 2022 damaged the infrastructure, leaving only one of the four original lines intact. Despite these setbacks and current political hostilities, Vladimir Putin recently suggested the remaining line could resume operations immediately. Neither the European Parliament nor the Council of the EU provided comment on the filing, which was officially published in the EU journal last week.