The German Union for the Conservation of Nature and Biodiversity (NABU) has filed a complaint with the Hamburg Administrative Court against the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the exclusive economic zone of Germany.

It depends Deutsche WelleUkrainian service of the Union referring to the press service of the Union.

In early April, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) rejected objections from environmentalists to the construction of the last remaining section of pipeline.

Read alsoBy stocking up on antidote for Nord Stream 2 workers, Russia admits chemical threat – Lithuanian analystThey argued that the site, which is approximately 16.5 kilometers in length, runs along the boundaries of the bird sanctuary and is therefore of little importance to a number of bird species that lie there.

Environmentalists believe that the only way to limit further damage to the Baltic Sea is to resort to litigation. According to them, the construction of the gas pipeline destroys marine flora and fauna in the area of ​​more than 16 football fields.

Nord Stream 2: Background

• The Nord Stream 2 project provides for the construction and operation of two pipeline branches with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from the Russian coast through the Baltic Sea to Germany. It should connect the Ust-Lug in Russia and the Greifswald in Germany. This new pipeline bypassing Ukraine is to be built alongside the existing Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.
• Construction of the pipeline was expected to be completed by the end of 2019.
• The project relating to a 1,220 km long pipeline is being implemented by the Russian Gazprom in alliance with a certain number of European companies. Ukraine opposes construction, facing a very likely loss of transit revenue estimated at $ 3 billion per year. The project is also heavily criticized by the United States, Poland and the Baltic States.
• The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is already more than 90% complete.
• The United States has imposed a series of sanctions on Nord Stream 2 and has repeatedly called on European allies and private companies to stop all work on the project.
• On January 7, 2021, a fund was established in Germany to support the completion of the Nord Stream 2 project.
• Eighteen companies have already refused to participate in the project or are considering doing so for fear of US sanctions.
• On March 14, 2021, the Executive Vice-President of the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, declared that Europe does not need the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Despite this, Germany continues to insist on the completion of the project.
• On March 19, 2021, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on companies involved in the construction of Nord Stream 2 to immediately stop piping, threatening further sanctions.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline a trap for all countries in Europe.
• On April 20, 2021, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Ukraine should remain a transit country for Russian gas to Europe, despite Germany’s decision to complete construction of the Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Translation:

Kanaryan Lyudmila,

Translation by
Yevgeny Matyushenko