Denis Frolov, Head of Litigation and Arbitration Practice, BMS Law Firm:

The European Commission will consider the matter on expanding the notion of an interconnector.
If the amendments are adopted, then Gazprom will have to allow access to the pipeline to third parties and comply with the requirement on separating the gas supplier and gas transiter. It is supposed that the company must not simultaneously own gas pipelines and gas extraction facilities.

So far it is hard to say if the draft amendments are adopted, as it is actively opposed by Germany — the closing of Nord Stream 2 is not beneficial to it. But if they are, this will negatively affect investors attitude towards the project. Gasprom will most likely have to attract
Asian and Russian investors, since dealing with European ones will become
problematic.