Nord Stream 2 not a Common Interest Project - EU
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline which aims to bring Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea is not a "project of common interest" to the EU, the European Union's competition commissioner said on Monday.
"On the legal side of things, it has become very clear that the Commission does not find that the Nord Stream 2 project will be a project of common interest," EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager told a news conference in Brussels.
She was repeating the Commission's view that the project does not serve the EU's efforts to reform the energy market in the bloc and reduce dependence on Russian gas. However, the executive has so far resisted attempts by some national governments which opposed the scheme to take a firm position on the legality of the pipeline under European law.
Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel
