German parliament passes bill regulating application of Gas Directive to Nord Stream 2

The Bundestag passed a bill regulating the application of amendments to the EU Gas Directive in Germany, which affect the Nord Stream 2 project.

The bill was supposed to have been adopted last week, but because the vote was held late at night, not enough lawmakers were present to satisfy the quorum. In particular, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party demanded that the vote be held name-by-name. On Wednesday, the German lawmakers ended up simply standing up to express their stance.

The Bundestag adopted the legislation through a simple majority vote, Sputnik reported.

The European Commission amended its Gas Directive in April, and the amended document entered into force on 23 May. It stipulates that a third-party nation cannot own both the pipeline and gas imported into the EU market unless the conduit was built before 23 May 2019.