Environment Minister: gas pipeline project now more environmentally friendly than before
“Government approval possible before environment officials take stand”
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Minister of the Environment Paula Lehtomäki (Centre) says that the government can give the go-ahead for the construction of an undersea natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. Part of the pipeline would pass through a section of the Gulf of Finland which is in the Finnish economic zone.
In Lehtomäki’s view, authorisation can be given for the pipeline already before environment officials have had their say on the matter.
Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) said on Friday in a television news interview that the government is ready to grant permission for the construction of the pipeline through the Finnish economic zone already in September or October.
Vanhanen’s comments sparked intense online debate on the Helsingin Sanomat website, in light of the fact that Finnish environmental authorities have not decided on what stand to take on the matter.
Vanhanen did not want to comment further on the matter on Saturday. Instead, he sent a message through his aides according to which he believes that the reports required for the government’s go-ahead will be ready so that it will be possible to decide on the matter already in September.
Environment Minister Lehtomäki sees nothing strange in this order of doing things.
“We have thought that things would go in such a way that the government’s agreement in principle would be discussed earlier. The environment officials are independent in their own consideration”, Lehtomäki emphasises.
In online discussions, opponents of the gas pipeline interpret Vanhanen’s statement in such a way that the government has already decided to give permission for the construction of the pipeline, and that Vanhanen’s statement was an attempt to influence the environment officials.
Lehtomäki does not accept this theory. She notes that “the agreement of the government alone will not decide if permission is granted for the pipeline”. Therefore, she says that the claim that the government is involved in some kind of bargaining is without foundation.
"The question is about licencing decisions in which the cards are not in the hands of the government. The government cannot make dealings in matters that are not, in the final sense, up to the government to decide”, Lehtomäki says.
She emphasised that it is quite possible for the government to give its go-ahead to the project, and for environmental officials to reject it.
“The Prime Minister has brought this out, too.”
Lehtomäki says that much is already known about the environmental impact of the project, which means that the government can, in fact, evaluate the effects when it makes its decision. She says that the plans have, in many respects, gone in a more environmentally-friendly direction.
“When looking at the sea area as a whole, the environmental effects look like they could very well be controllable”, Lehtomäki says.
On Sunday, Vanhanen reiterated the view that the gas pipeline is an environmental issue, and that environmental officials are free to exercise their judgement in deciding on whether or not to grant building permission for the pipeline.
“Neither in the government nor on the political side does anyone have the right to direct environmental officials in any way”, Vanhanen emphasised in a radio interview programme on the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE).
He also expressed the view that the security environment in the Baltic Sea region would not change significantly if the planned gas pipeline is built.
“Russian warships already have full rights to sail in the international waters of the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea.”
National Coalition Party deputy chairwoman, MEP Eija Riitta Korhola chided the government on Sunday for being silent in the face of public questions on the foreign and security polity implications of the pipeline.
She said that there is so much silence, that “ordinary Finns get the impression of a revived Finlandisation.”
MP Susanna Huovinen (SDP), chairwoman of the Parliament’s environment committee, says that she is surprised at the way the Prime Minister expressed himself on the matter.
The pipeline project will be discussed in the committee for the first time in the coming autumn, “so that we might get as fresh information as possible”.
Huovinen notes that the issue is not for Parliament, because granting permission is a matter for the government.
“So far, it has been seen exclusively as an environmental question in Finland, but in neighbouring countries, the effects of the pipeline have raised much broader debate.”
In online debates, it has also been asked whether Nord Stream, the Russian-German joint venture that is behind the pipeline project, has contributed money to Finnish political parties.
Company spokesman Sebastian Sass laughs at the suggestion.
“We have not financed election campaigns in any way.”
He adds: “Open distribution of information is the most important thing. Background work is the key, which is linked with environmental assessments.”
No travel or luxurious dinners have been offered, nor have there been any extensive sponsorships.
In Lehtomäki’s view, authorisation can be given for the pipeline already before environment officials have had their say on the matter.
Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) said on Friday in a television news interview that the government is ready to grant permission for the construction of the pipeline through the Finnish economic zone already in September or October.
Vanhanen’s comments sparked intense online debate on the Helsingin Sanomat website, in light of the fact that Finnish environmental authorities have not decided on what stand to take on the matter.
Vanhanen did not want to comment further on the matter on Saturday. Instead, he sent a message through his aides according to which he believes that the reports required for the government’s go-ahead will be ready so that it will be possible to decide on the matter already in September.
Environment Minister Lehtomäki sees nothing strange in this order of doing things.
“We have thought that things would go in such a way that the government’s agreement in principle would be discussed earlier. The environment officials are independent in their own consideration”, Lehtomäki emphasises.
In online discussions, opponents of the gas pipeline interpret Vanhanen’s statement in such a way that the government has already decided to give permission for the construction of the pipeline, and that Vanhanen’s statement was an attempt to influence the environment officials.
Lehtomäki does not accept this theory. She notes that “the agreement of the government alone will not decide if permission is granted for the pipeline”. Therefore, she says that the claim that the government is involved in some kind of bargaining is without foundation.
"The question is about licencing decisions in which the cards are not in the hands of the government. The government cannot make dealings in matters that are not, in the final sense, up to the government to decide”, Lehtomäki says.
She emphasised that it is quite possible for the government to give its go-ahead to the project, and for environmental officials to reject it.
“The Prime Minister has brought this out, too.”
Lehtomäki says that much is already known about the environmental impact of the project, which means that the government can, in fact, evaluate the effects when it makes its decision. She says that the plans have, in many respects, gone in a more environmentally-friendly direction.
“When looking at the sea area as a whole, the environmental effects look like they could very well be controllable”, Lehtomäki says.
On Sunday, Vanhanen reiterated the view that the gas pipeline is an environmental issue, and that environmental officials are free to exercise their judgement in deciding on whether or not to grant building permission for the pipeline.
“Neither in the government nor on the political side does anyone have the right to direct environmental officials in any way”, Vanhanen emphasised in a radio interview programme on the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE).
He also expressed the view that the security environment in the Baltic Sea region would not change significantly if the planned gas pipeline is built.
“Russian warships already have full rights to sail in the international waters of the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea.”
National Coalition Party deputy chairwoman, MEP Eija Riitta Korhola chided the government on Sunday for being silent in the face of public questions on the foreign and security polity implications of the pipeline.
She said that there is so much silence, that “ordinary Finns get the impression of a revived Finlandisation.”
MP Susanna Huovinen (SDP), chairwoman of the Parliament’s environment committee, says that she is surprised at the way the Prime Minister expressed himself on the matter.
The pipeline project will be discussed in the committee for the first time in the coming autumn, “so that we might get as fresh information as possible”.
Huovinen notes that the issue is not for Parliament, because granting permission is a matter for the government.
“So far, it has been seen exclusively as an environmental question in Finland, but in neighbouring countries, the effects of the pipeline have raised much broader debate.”
In online debates, it has also been asked whether Nord Stream, the Russian-German joint venture that is behind the pipeline project, has contributed money to Finnish political parties.
Company spokesman Sebastian Sass laughs at the suggestion.
“We have not financed election campaigns in any way.”
He adds: “Open distribution of information is the most important thing. Background work is the key, which is linked with environmental assessments.”
No travel or luxurious dinners have been offered, nor have there been any extensive sponsorships.
Helsingin Sanomat