EU Throws Weight Behind Nord Stream

Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs told the European Parliament's seminar yesterday that the Nord Stream pipeline project would be essential for natural gas supplies into north-west Europe. Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas urged developers to adhere to European Commission (EC) directives on the environment during the research phase of the project. However, he added that the Commission would not intervene in disagreements between parties unless there were solid legal grounds to do so.

A Tough Period for Nord Stream

Since the Estonian government took the decision last September to prevent the Russian-German pipeline consortium from surveying Estonia's territorial waters in the Baltic Sea to determine the final route, Nord Stream has encountered opposition from Finnish environmental groups and has almost doubled the estimated costs of the project, to some US$11.84 billion (8 billion euro). The consortium is also under intense lobbying from Poland, which gets transit fees from transportation of Russian gas through its territory, to scrap the project as it stands and re-route the pipeline across Poland. Nord Stream is 51% owned by Gazprom, with E.ON, BASF (Wintershall), and Gasunie also holding stakes. Last week, the chief executive of Wintershall called on the European Union (EU) to back the project in a similar way to the Nabucco pipeline. It was also reported this week that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk would propose a gas pipeline via Poland and the Baltic States as an alternative to Nord Stream during a planned visit to the Russian capital, Moscow, on 8 February. According to reports, Poland's Economy Ministry is finalising an account of how the investment will work. The European Parliament seminar yesterday was intended to air the concerns of states whose territorial waters the pipeline will cross and for the Nord Stream consortium to reassure over steps it was taking to prevent environmental damage.

The Commission's Stance

Piebalgs said he hoped the project would get support from environmentalists as it would increase energy security for the EU. The 27-nation bloc is expected to import up to 85% of its natural gas supplies by 2030, most of it from Russia. He said: "The volume of gas imported from Russia is expected to grow in the coming years. Nord Stream would enhance energy security in Europe by bringing gas through an additional route. Nord Stream is becoming an even more important option when we see other alternative projects are experiencing very slow progress." This last could have been a veiled reference to the stalling Nabucco project.

Stavros Dimas told the seminar: "We need to respect fully all relevant Community laws in this very important and complex project." He said that if EU laws, such as those on wildlife protection, were broken, the Commission "will not hesitate" to sue those countries in whose waters the violation takes place.

The Commission may ask the European Court of Justice, the EU's top court, to halt the project in an extreme case: for example, if the Commission were to reject completely its environmental impact assessments (EIAs).

However, Dimas made a pointed comment to the environmentalists, saying: "Let me be very clear on this point. The Commission cannot participate actively in such a specific assessment. The assessments are to be carried out by each country concerned under the Espoo Convention and the relevant EIA rules and procedures applicable to them. [It] is not the responsibility of the Commission to carry out or participate in environmental impact assessments.

"It [the Commission] can only intervene if there are solid grounds to believe that there have been failures in meeting the relevant legal obligations with respect to EC Law, including EU environmental law. I can assure you that the Commission will not hesitate to intervene should it be required."

Nord Stream director Dirk von Ameln assured the seminar the consortium would respect all EU laws and had hired independent consultants to ensure that would be the case. "Nord Stream is fully committed to preserving the Baltic Sea environment. The pipeline has been planned with a profound awareness of the environmental issues and conditions of the Baltic Sea," he said.

Outlook and implications

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