Lavrov: EU Gas Directive amendments breach principle of investor protection from changes in receiving party's legislation
MOSCOW. July 18 (Interfax) - Russia views the recent amendments to the European Union's Gas Directive as a violation of the principles of investment protection from changes in a receiving party's legislation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"Nord Stream 2 is a purely commercial project intended to bolster Europe's energy security and help reduce gas prices for European consumers," Lavrov said in an interview with the German newspaper Rheinische Post published on Thursday.
"Against this background, certain forces' attempts to 'put a spoke in the wheel' and hinder the implementation of this project leave us perplexed. This is how we assess the amendments to the 'Gas Directive' of the "Third Energy Package' of the European Union that entered into force on May 23 and effectively violate the fundamental principle of investor protection from changes in a receiving party's legislation," he said.
"Given the haste with which the previous, Romanian, presidency of the Council of the EU expedited their adoption, we have no doubt that the sole aim of these amendments was to hinder the completion of this construction," he said.