German Agency Nixes Russian Hopes Of Approval Of Nord Stream 2

The controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline, set to deliver Russian gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea, still has a way to go before it can begin operating, the head of the Federal Network Agency has warned, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

Photo Insert: The Russian landfall of Nord Stream 2

The Russian owner Gazprom set up a German-based subsidiary to meet legal requirements for the pipeline, but agency president Jochen Homann told the FAZ broadsheet that "further steps are missing" before it can be added to the commercial register.

Considering outstanding assessments, "a conclusion will unlikely be possible in the first half of the year," Homann said in the interview, which is to be published on Monday.

The new subsidiary, Gas for Europe GmbH, is based in the city of Schwerin in northern Germany. It will submit the necessary documents to continue the certification process "as soon as possible," a spokesperson for the company said on Wednesday.

The EU gas directive created problems for Gazprom, Nord Stream 2's sole shareholder, because it requires the operation of the pipeline and the distribution of gas to be managed separately. Nord Stream 2 AG, based in Zug, Switzerland, had applied to the Federal Network Agency for certification as an independent operator.

However, the authority put the procedure on ice in November, pointing out that the network operator had to be registered in Germany.

The construction phase of Nord Stream 2 was dogged by accusations - notably from Washington, but also from countries in Eastern Europe - that the completed pipeline would hand Russia too much power in the European gas market.

It would also bypass an existing land pipeline through Ukraine, and risk-reducing Ukraine's leverage in its multiple disputes with Moscow.

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