Bankwatch member group the Estonian Green Movement, along with the Estonian Fund for Nature, have today sent a former complaint to the European Commission that lays out how Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany have failed to comply with EU environmental legislation when granting Nord Stream a licence to construct the EUR 8 billion Baltic Sea gas pipeline.

The Estonian NGOs allege that EU directives on environmental impact assessment (EIA) and conservation of wild birds and habitats have been violated by the member states in the preparation for construction of the 1220 kilometre long pipeline that is intended to deliver natural gas from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea. Project promoter Nord Stream is seeking significant project finance support from export credit agencies and a range of banks, including potentially the European Investment Bank.

 
Peep Mardiste, policy advisor for Estonian Green Movement and Executive Committee member of CEE Bankwatch Network, said: “The seperate EIAs carried out in the four countries for the Nord Stream pipeline have underestimated the risks and have presented environmental statements that are not sufficiently supported by the data. Substantial damage to the fragile environment of the Baltic Sea and to people’s health in the Baltic Sea countries remains a major risk.

“The EIAs underestimate the potential danger of remobilisation of toxic chemicals from seabed sediments during the pipeline's construction. Dioxins and other persistent organic pollutants, as well as organically bound mercury and other chemicals containing heavy metals, can get into the food chain and end up in human food in large concentrations. The EIAs for the project fail to provide clear answers to questions regarding the remobilisation of toxic pollutants, stating instead that there are no risks.”

The Estonian environmental groups will now await a response from the European Commission on whether or not their complaint presents sufficient grounds to launch an infringement procedure against Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany for failure to implement Community law.

Peep Mardiste said: “We feel that our complaint presents strong enough evidence for the Commission to take this to the next level, and can help to ensure that in future the impacts of large infrastructure projects are professionally assessed. Projects like Nord Stream are marching onwards under the banner of EU energy security, but this shouldn't lead to public health and environmental security getting buried in the sand.”