No Russian gas will flow into the completed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the near future.

In October, the company stated that it had a working pressure in the pipeline and that it was filled with 177 million cubic meters of gas pending final approval in Germany.

Contrary to German law

However, the German authority Bundesnetzagentur announced on Tuesday that it is stopping the certification of the pipeline, which drove up the price of natural gas in Europe.

The authority is responsible, among other things, for controlling the German energy market.

The decision is justified by the fact that the company behind the gas pipeline is not constructed in accordance with German law.

The company Nord Stream 2 AG is headquartered in Switzerland and a German subsidiary has been established for the German part of the gas pipeline.

The Bundesnetzagentur is now demanding that assets and personnel be transferred to the German company - if the authority is to review the certification again, which the company says they will do.

- Our company takes this measure to ensure that we comply with applicable rules and regulations.

We do not have the opportunity to comment on individual details in the process, how long it takes and how it affects the time for the start of the pipeline operation, Nord Stream 2's spokesperson Jens Mueller answers SVT Nyheter after the message from the German authority.

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is 2,460 kilometers long.

It is closed in the Swedish economic zone in the Baltic Sea and will supply natural gas from Russia Photo: SVT Design

Massive criticism

The United States has criticized the project several times, claiming that Europe could become dependent on energy imports from Russia.

The project is primarily backed by the Russian state-controlled energy company Gazprom.

Companies in Austria, Germany, France and the Netherlands have also made major investments.

Ukraine is also one of the critics, as the management risks undermining the country's role as a transit country between Russia and the EU in the gas market.

Some EU countries have also criticized the Russian-German gas project.

The work of completing the management was basically stagnant for just over a year and a half due to US sanctions.

But this summer, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Joe Biden made an agreement that the project would be completed.

The line has been completed since the beginning of September, but putting the line into use now seems to be dragging on indefinitely again.