Europe’s second top court on Wednesday rejected a challenge by the operators of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines against European Union rules on gas adopted by the bloc last year, saying these do not affect them, Reuters reports.
Nord Stream 2, designed by Russia’s Gazprom to increase direct shipments to Europe, will carry gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea.
The operator last year took its case to the Luxembourg-based General Court, seeking to annul an EU gas directive amendment that includes a requirement for pipelines not be owned directly by gas suppliers and for at least 10 percent of capacity be made available to third parties.
The general court today dismissed its appeal.
“Concerning both Nord Stream 2 AG and Nord Stream AG, the General Court finds that they are not directly concerned by the amending directive,” judges said in a statement.
