The decision was preceded by long and complex negotiations, including a telephone call from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to his Danish counterpart, Lars Rasmussen, the Danish newspaper Politiken reports.
Nord Stream will link Russia and Germany along the bottom of the Baltic, passing through five countries: Russia, Germany, Finland, Sweden and Denmark. As Russia and Germany initiated the project, Gazprom and its partners had no doubt that both countries would give their approval. By contrast, the Scandinavian countries have been reviewing the project for almost a year, resulting in several postponements to the deadline for the first Nord Stream pipeline. The latest official deadline is 2011.
"The project is moving ahead on schedule," the managing director of Nord Stream, Mattias Varnig, said yesterday (quoted from a press release). Mr Varnig also stated that he hopes to obtain all necessary permits before the year is out and that the company is "optimistic" about meeting the deadline. Nord Stream's technical director Sergei Serdyukov says that the company is set to begin construction on April 1 (due to seasonal factors) and complete the pipeline 18 months later, i.e. by September 1, 2011.
The countries concerned have not named exact deadlines yet. A spokesman for the German industry ministry declined to comment. His colleagues in the Finnish and Swedish governments have not responded to our request for information. Even so, Gazprom stands a good chance of getting the second permit for Nord Stream next week when Prime Minister Putin hosts Finnish Premier Matti Vanhanen in St Petersburg. The Baltic gas pipeline will be the main topic of discussion.
Yelena Mazneva, Kirill Khripunov