Germany's Highest Court Rejects Greens' Bid to Block Nord Stream 2 Construction

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Germany’s Constitutional Court rejected a complaint by Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) seeking to reverse the ruling of an administrative court in Greifswald that upheld the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in German territorial waters, the top court's press service said on Thursday.

According to the press service, the high court of Germany said that the group had failed to provide sufficient evidence of the lower court violating German law when it ruled to reject the environmentalists' bid.

READ MORE: Germany Can't Accept US Position on Nord Stream 2 — AfD Head Meuthen

However, the court specified that the lower court had ruled "without closer examination of the facts and the law, on the sole basis of an impact assessment." The environmentalists should have clarified which clauses of the lower court's decision were inconsistent with the law.

"[The claimant] did not do so," the court said, referring to the environmentalists' lack of clarification.

According to Nord Stream 2 AG, the operator of the pipeline project, approval for the construction was issued by the Stralsund Mining Authority in accordance with the Energy Industry Act (EnWG).

In June, the supreme administrative court in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state, where the pipeline is set to be built, rejected NABU's bid against the local mining authorities' approval the project. The environmentalists tried to appeal to a higher authority.

The Nord Stream 2 project envisages the construction of two gas pipelines that will run from the Russian coast through the Baltic Sea to a hub in Germany. It is a joint venture of Russian energy giant Gazprom, French Engie, Austrian OMV AG, UK-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, and German Uniper and Wintershall.