Gazprom subsidiary Nord Stream 2 AG sues the EU over ban on Russian gas imports

The operator of the long-delayed and now largely defunct Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has launched a legal challenge against the European Union, seeking to overturn a landmark regulation that phases out Russian natural gas imports.

Nord Stream 2 AG, a Swiss-registered company wholly owned by Russian state energy giant Gazprom, filed the lawsuit on 27 April. The case (T-264/26) was made public on 15 June through a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. The company is asking the EU General Court to annul Regulation (EU) 2026/261, adopted on January 26, 2026, which establishes a gradual but permanent ban on Russian pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports.

If the court does not fully invalidate the regulation, Nord Stream 2 AG requests that specific provisions affecting its operations be struck down. The company argues that the rules effectively render its multibillion-euro pipeline unusable for commercial purposes, amounting to an uncompensated expropriation of its assets.

Core arguments in the lawsuit

In its complaint, Nord Stream 2 AG raises four main claims:

The regulation violates property rights by depriving the company of the ability to use the pipeline.
It discriminates against Nord Stream 2 compared to other pipeline operators.
The EU used the wrong legal basis: the company contends the measure is essentially a sanction and should have followed the stricter procedures required for sanctions, rather than a standard legislative process.
It breaches principles of proportionality, freedom of enterprise, equal treatment, and constitutes an abuse of power.

The lawsuit fits a pattern of legal pushback by the company against EU energy rules that have hindered the project.

Background on Nord Stream 2 and its operator

Nord Stream 2 AG was created specifically to finance, build, and operate the Nord Stream 2 pipeline — two parallel lines running 1,230 kilometers under the Baltic Sea from Russia directly to Germany. The project, completed in 2021 at an estimated cost exceeding €10 billion, was designed to double the capacity of the original Nord Stream route, allowing up to 110 billion cubic meters of Russian gas per year to reach Europe while bypassing traditional transit countries like Ukraine.

The pipeline has been mired in controversy from the start. Critics, including the United States, Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic states, argued it would increase Europe’s dangerous dependence on Russian energy, weaken Ukraine’s strategic position, and undermine EU energy diversification goals. Despite these concerns, construction proceeded until Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Germany then suspended certification, and the pipelines were later damaged in sabotage attacks in September 2022. Nord Stream 2 has never entered commercial operation.

The EU’s REPowerEU strategy and the gas phase-out

The challenged regulation is a cornerstone of the EU’s REPowerEU plan, launched in May 2022 in direct response to the war in Ukraine. The strategy aims to rapidly reduce and ultimately eliminate the bloc’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels through diversification of supplies, accelerated renewable energy deployment, energy efficiency measures, and joint gas purchasing.

After months of negotiations – including opposition from heavily dependent countries like Slovakia and Hungary – the EU reached political agreement in late 2025 and formally adopted the regulation in January 2026. Key timelines include:

Transitional exemptions for certain existing contracts.
A full ban on Russian LNG imports by early 2027.
A full ban on Russian pipeline gas imports by 30 September 2027.

The rules also prepare the ground for further measures on Russian oil imports and strengthen monitoring of energy dependencies.

Broader context and potential impact

This legal action comes amid ongoing efforts by several EU member states, including Hungary and Slovakia, to challenge aspects of the energy phase-out. Previous Nord Stream 2 AG lawsuits against EU gas market directives have largely been unsuccessful.

The case is now before the EU General Court in Luxembourg. Proceedings in such annulment actions can take one to two years or longer, with possible appeals to the European Court of Justice. Legal experts note that the EU has strong security and foreign policy justifications tied to the war in Ukraine, which may weigh heavily in the court’s assessment.

For Nord Stream 2 AG and Gazprom, the pipeline represents a stranded asset with little realistic prospect of revival under current geopolitical conditions. For the EU, the regulation is a critical step toward energy independence and reducing funding for Russia’s war efforts. The outcome could have implications not only for remaining Russian gas flows but also for how the bloc designs future sanctions and energy security measures.

EU to end all Russian gas and oil imports by 2027, signals robust energy sanctions

The article in Ukrainian by EUalive’s partner Suspilne can be found here.

Caption: The logo of Russian energy giant Gazprom is on display during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in St. Petersburg, Russia, 3 June 2026. EPA/ANATOLY MALTSEV