The Finnish government in April 2018 gave the go-ahead for the construction of the contested Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline from Russia to Germany through Finland's economic zone.
The pipeline is opposed by Poland and several other countries. Under current plans it is expected to run for 374 kilometres through Finland’s economic zone in the Baltic Sea.
The Polish branch of environmental law group ClientEarth argued that the project posed a serious risk to marine life.
In addition to environmental concerns, ClientEarth said the construction of the pipeline threatened energy security in the European Union.
Last May, the environmental group submitted a complaint to a Finnish administrative court.
On Monday, PAP reported that the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland had ruled that the environmental impact of the gas link had been assessed in line with international agreements, and rejected ClientEarth’s complaint.
The controversial 1,200-kilometre pipeline is expected to have the capacity to send around 55 billion cubic metres of Russian natural gas a year directly to Germany under the Baltic Sea, while bypassing the Baltic states, Poland and Ukraine.
In June, US President Donald Trump said that Nord Stream 2 “really makes Germany a hostage of Russia if things ever happen that were bad.”
Warsaw and Washington have both strongly criticised the project amid concerns that the pipeline will make the European Union more dependent on Russian gas.
Russian gas giant Gazprom said on Friday that the construction of the gas link was 73.6 percent complete, PAP reported.
(jh/pk)
Source: PAP