MEPs urge new Baltic gas pipeline assessment

2581, 09/07/08

The EU must carry out its own independent environmental impact assessment of the proposed Nord Stream undersea gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea, the European parliament insisted on Tuesday in a wide-ranging resolution on the project.  MEPs criticised the European commission for failing to act on earlier calls for an independent assessment.

Nord Stream is carrying out an environmental assessment under the UN's Espoo convention (EED 30/11/06 http://www.endseuropedaily.com/22166), but participation is limited to Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.

The parliament said a wider investigation must involve all Baltic littoral states.  The resolution was triggered by concerns brought by Polish and Latvian environmental campaigners to the parliament's petitions committee (EED 01/02/08 http://www.endseuropedaily.com/24755).  The Swedish and Polish governments have also voiced worries about the scheme's impact (EED 30/05/07 http://www.endseuropedaily.com/23296).

The new pipeline would transport gas from Russia to Germany and is scheduled for completion in 2011.  But the parliament warned that Nord Stream's project timetable "will prevent a thorough analysis of the results" of the impact assessment.

MEPs said the issue of economic compensation for any "failures or damage" must be "perfectly clear before work can begin", because the pipeline could lead to "complications" for Baltic states and could be "devastating for the marine environment".  Liability for compensation should lie "solely" with Nord Stream, they said.

The project's biggest partner is Russian gas giant Gazprom;  the other firms involved are BASF, EON Ruhrgas and Nederlandse Gasunie.

Follow-up: See European parliament Nord Stream resolution

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?language=EN&type=TA&reference=20080708&secondRef=TOC

(from page 242) and press release

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/021-33607-189-07-28-902-20080707IPR33591-07-07-2008-2008-false/default_en.htm,

plus Nord Stream http://www.nord-stream.com/en/.

ENDS Europe Daily is Europe's leading environmental news service. A free trial is available by clicking on the following link:http://www.endseuropedaily.com/web/helcom.