Ukraine’s energy company Naftogaz and the country’s Gas TSO (GTSOU) submitted a request to the German energy regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) to take part in the Nord Stream 2 certification procedure.
“As a national company which defends national interests and leads the fight for Ukraine’s energy security, Naftogaz submitted a request to German regulator BNetzA to participate in certification proceedings on Nord Stream 2,” announced Naftogaz Executive Board Chairman Yuriy Vitrenko. “Our position is that Nord Stream 2 cannot be certified because it does not fully comply with European legislation.”
Mr Vitrenko emphasised that Naftogaz is one of the largest participants in the European gas market. It buys large gas volumes and is directly interested in ensuring a high level of competition and full compliance with EU legislation.
“We aim to demonstrate to the German regulator that certification of Nord Stream 2 operator would significantly harm competition on the German market, as well as on the markets of Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Austria,” he noted.
The Chairman of the Naftogaz Executive Board added that there are currently a number of apparent inconsistencies relating to EU requirements. For example, European law requires non-discriminatory third-party access to the pipeline. Therefore he stressed the need for the German regulator to assess the negative impact of Nord Stream 2 on competition, not only in Germany but also in the wider European energy market.
“We remain strongly opposed to this geopolitically dangerous project that threatens the national security of Ukraine, erodes the European energy architecture, and seeks to circumvent EU regulations,” added Sergiy Makogon, Director General of GTSOU. “Certification of Nord Stream 2 would infringe on GTSOU’s commercial and legal interests, which is the basis for our application to BNetzA. Nord Stream 2 will not diversify gas transport routes and threatens European security of supply. We consider it our duty to inform our strategic partners about these concerns.”
Finally, Mr Vitrenko added that the involvement of Naftogaz in the certification of Nord Stream 2 will result in greater transparency and will make it possible to consider arguments from all sides.
BNetzA has already granted the Polish state energy company PGNiG and its German subsidiary PGNiG Supply & Trading the right to participate in the certification proceedings for Nord Stream 2.
