German regulator suspends controversial Nord Stream 2

Germany's Federal Network Agency said on Tuesday, it suspended the procedure to certify Nord Stream 2 AG as an independent transmission operator as it did not meet the conditions to receive that status.

"Following a thorough examination of the documentation, the Bundesnetzagentur concluded that it would only be possible to certify an operator of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline if that operator was organised in a legal form under German law," said Bundesnetzagentur in a statement. 

The certification procedure will remain suspended until the main assets and human resources have been transferred to the subsidiary, the agency said in a statement. 

Nord Stream 2 AG, based in Switzerland, has not transformed its existing legal form but instead to found which the regulators said that the subsidiary must then fulfil the requirements of an independent transmission operator as set out in the German Energy Industry Act.

Nord Stream 2 pipeline is set to transport gas from Russia to Germany; however, the pipeline has received a backlash from countries in Europe who said that Russia is using gas exportation as a weapon.