Nord Stream pipeline faces difficult summer

THE Russian-German plan to build a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea – already at risk because of cost inflation and various environmental objections – is in danger of losing the support of the European Commission. In May, an obscure committee of the European Parliament said it would support a report that prohibits building the pipeline on environmental grounds. The Petitions Committee report claims the pipeline "represents a serious threat to biodiversity and to a number of habitats". It was adopted on a 26-3 vote, with one abstention. The report faces its next test before the European Parliament, which will vote on the matter in July. If the report is approved, the Commission will have lit