BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — She added that the Council decision on the mandate would be undertaken by a qualified majority.
"We have not received this mandate yet from the Council. Obviously, we are confident that this will happen and that we will be able to enter into talks, but what [the mandate] will look like, how wide it is, what it will be covering — this is now for the member states to discuss among themselves," Itkonen said.
Last week, media reported, citing European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, thirteen EU members supported the European Commission's request for a mandate.
The Nord Stream 2 project proposes the construction of two gas pipelines from the Russian coast, through the Baltic Sea, and on to a hub in Germany, to total a combined annual gas capacity of 55 billion cubic meters. As the pipeline would not pass through the terrestrial portion of the European Union, it would not be subject to all of the regulations of the EU internal market, under the umbrella of the Third Energy Package.
The European Commission has taken several steps to make the project comply with EU regulations, including by requesting the negotiating mandate, which should be approved by the EU member states. However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that such a mandate was unnecessary, nonetheless, adding that some legal issues should be cleared up.
