Baltic pipeline fuels ecology row

Published time: 30 May, 2008 01:12 Edited time: 30 May, 2008 05:12

A committee of the European Parliament says the proposed Nord Stream pipeline between Russia and Germany poses 'a serious ecological threat' to the Baltic Sea. But doubts have been raised over the claims, with some experts saying criticism of the project

The EU’s Petitions Committee says if Nord Stream is found to be an environmental risk, then the EU should use all legal means to prevent its construction on the scale proposed.

Marcin Libicki from the Union for Europe of the Nations political group is one of the authors of a report which says the project could lead to an environmental disaster.

“The risk of catastrophe and the consequence of ecological catastrophe will be absolutely more important than in other cases around the world. My suggestion is that this investment cannot be on this big scale,” he said.

According to Nord Stream’s developers, that is far from the truth. They say the report is misleading and makes a number of factually incorrect claims. Nord Stream director Dirk van Ameln said: “no serious environmental threat from the pipeline to the environment of the Baltic Sea has been identified.”