EU Parliament demands tighter environmental scrutiny of Baltic Sea gas pipeline

The European Parliament demanded stricter environmental scrutiny Tuesday before construction gets under way on a controversial Baltic Sea pipeline designed to pump Russian natural gas to Germany. The European Union assembly also said the Nord Stream AG company behind the pipeline must consult with other Baltic Sea countries before going ahead with the project — including Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which have all expressed deep reservations about the plan. In a resolution adopted 543-to-60 with 38 abstentions, the parliament called for an independent study of the environmental impact the 1,220-kilometer (760-mile) pipeline could have and further consideration of overland alternatives. The planned Nord Stream pipeline would carry natural gas from the northwestern Russian port of Vyborg to the northern German port of... [read full story]