Finland clears way for Baltic gas pipeline

The decision by the regional agency means the Russian-German joint venture Nord Stream AG can start the euro7.4 billion ($10.6 billion) project in April. The company had already received permits from Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Russia and Finland's national government.

The first of two pipes is expected to be completed in 2011. Once completed the dual pipeline will carry some 1.9 trillion cubic feet (55 billion cubic meters) of natural gas a year from Vyborg in Russia to the German port of Greifswald — enough for more than 25 million people.

Europe is hoping a direct pipeline to Russia will ensure continuous supplies of natural gas. In recent years, a long-standing spat between Russia and Ukraine threatened supplies when Moscow turned off gas taps to Ukraine along a pipeline that also served western Europe.

Still, the project has generated heated debate in the region, mainly over security concerns and the impact on the fragile maritime environment of the brackish water. Environmentalists fear construction could lead to toxins and weapons being stirred up from the seabed in one of the world's most polluted seas.

Poland and other former Soviet and Soviet-bloc countries — traditional transit routes for Russian gas — also worry the pipeline could permit Russia to threaten their gas supplies without cutting off customers in Western Europe.