Measuring over some 1,230 km in length, Nord Stream 2 is expected be one of the world's longest offshore natural gas pipelines. 

It is designed to transport natural gas from the coast of Russia, through the Baltic Sea, reaching landfall near Greifswald in Germany, following the route of the existing Nord Stream pipeline. Nord Stream 2 pipeline is projected to have capacity to transport 55 bcm of natural gas per year.

 However, the European Commission claims that construction of Nord Stream 2, bypassing traditional routes via Ukraine, may undercut EU efforts to reduce its dependence on Russian gas and its support for Kyiv. Nord Stream 2 is also opposed by eastern member states of the EU, particularly Poland, arguing that Nord Stream 2 is against the strategic interests of the EU and undermines concept of the Energy Union. Therefore, the Commission has proposed to extend EU internal energy market rules to cover offshore gas pipelines crossing Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of EU member states. Territorial extension of EU energy law would require Nord Stream 2 to comply with the third energy package. The third energy package aims to create a single EU gas and electricity market and includes rules on unbundling (preventing companies which are involved both in transmission of energy and in production and/or supply of energy from using their privileged position as operators of a transmission network to prevent or obstruct access of their competitors to this network), third party access principle (the operators of transmission networks must allow any electricity or gas supplier non-discriminatory access to the transmission network to supply customers) and increases transparency. Nord Stream 2 project, fully owned by Russia's gas export monopoly Gazprom, is far from complying with the third energy package rules. 

 According to leaked documents obtained by EURACTIV.com, the Council's legal service has opposed the Commissions legislative proposal to extend EU internal energy market rules to cover offshore gas pipelines. The Council's legal services argues that EU does not have jurisdiction to apply the third energy packaged rules to pipelines crossing the EEZ of EU member states. Application of EU law to the EEZs would not comply with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Commission's legislative proposal was also opposed by European energy industries. 

The proposal to change the Gas Directive was opposed by 22 European industry stakeholders including Business Europe, Eurogas, BDEW, Confindustria. Supportive statements came only from 12 stakeholders, mainly from Poland, such as PGNiG, Gaz System, PKN Orlen.