The Federal Council did not reach a position on the law implementing the German-Dutch agreement on the joint use of cross-border natural gas storage facilities. In the session of the Federal Council (Länder/Kammer) on Friday, neither a rejection recommendation from the Environmental Committee nor an approval recommendation from the Economic Committee obtained a majority.
Thus, the Federal Council in this early phase of the legislative process waives a position. The bill can now be introduced to the Bundestag unchanged. Only after its deliberation will the Federal Council again deal with the law.
The law is intended to enable the expansion of gas production in the North Sea off the island of Borkum. The agreement regulates the legal framework for the so-called unitarization of gas fields that extend across the sovereign territories of both states.
Specifically, it concerns a gas field located about 20 kilometers off Borkum, which is being developed by the Dutch company One-Dyas. The company is already extracting gas there on Dutch territory.
With the agreement, German shares of the field could also be jointly utilized in the future. The technical extraction would be carried out from a platform on the Dutch side; according to the company, no new extraction facilities on German territory are planned.
The federal government sees the agreement as contributing to energy security. The affected gas field could, over several years, cover a portion of Germany’s natural gas demand. In addition, supporters point out that domestically produced gas results in lower transport emissions than imports from non-EU countries. One-Dyas emphasizes that the platform will be powered by electricity from offshore wind energy.
Significant Opposition to the Project
There is substantial resistance to the project. Environmental groups such as the German Environmental Aid (Deutsche Umwelthilfe), Greenpeace, and BUND warn of risks to the fragile ecosystems of the North Sea and the Wadden Sea. The gas field lies in close proximity to UNESCO’s World Heritage site.
Critics doubt that potential effects on the seabed, biodiversity, and water quality have been sufficiently studied. They also point to climate-policy implications: new fossil-fuel extraction projects would run counter to national and international climate goals.
Politically, the decision is also controversial. Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) had previously backed the agreement with the Netherlands. He said it was an approved procedure, telling dpa (German Press Agency) and pointing to progress in marine protection that he had advocated in return.
Lawsuits Against Several Permits
The Schleswig-Holstein state government spoke out against the law. Green Environment Minister Tobias Goldschmidt explained the rejection, among other reasons, that the agreement would burden the North Sea and threaten the Wadden Sea. It does not confine itself to a specific extraction area, does not name an end, and has no restrictions. Building new drilling rigs would undermine the expansion of renewable energy and send a false signal for the energy transition.
Legally, the project is also not yet finished. Several permits, including for an electric and data cable to the extraction platform, are the subject of ongoing lawsuits. Environmental groups have announced that they will examine further legal steps.
For the island of Borkum, gas extraction remains a sensitive issue. Some residents fear negative impacts on tourism and the environment, while others point to the importance of a secure energy supply.
