Brussels, 14/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - Describing the European Commission's energy security package to reporters on Thursday 13 November 2008, EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs promised that the EU would not budge on its environmental standards for Germany and Russia's Nord Stream gas pipeline project under the Baltic Sea, despite the threat by Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin on 12 November to pull out from the project. The Commissioner said threats were never a good tool and never changed EU policies. On Wednesday, Putin said that Nord Stream might not come to fruition, and sent the ball back into the EU court. He is quoted by the Interfax press agency as saying that Europeans have to decide whether they need the gas that will be transported through this gas pipeline. He said he was not trying to force the decision but if the EU did not need the gas, Russia would build factories, liquefy the gas and ship it to the world market, warning that this would be more expensive. Nord Stream is a joint project run by Russian energy giant Gazprom and German companies BASF and E.ON. The idea is for a 1,198 km pipeline under the Baltic Sea from Vyborg in Russia to Greifswald in Germany. It is causing concern to other countries on the Baltic, like Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Poland and Sweden, which fear the severe environmental damage it would cause. Poland and the Baltic States see the project as an expression of Russia's political desire to bypass them. Staunchly opposed to the project, the Lithuanian government, through its foreign ministry, welcomed the Russian government's new plans. Piebalgs firmly supports the project due to its European interest and pointed out that Nord Stream would face a financial challenge and an environmental challenge. The consortium might decide to halt the project if it cannot find enough money but the EU cannot water down its environmental legislation, he said, pointing out that under EU rules, an environmental impact study has to be carried out. The Commission's energy security package sets out a strategy for ensuring long-lasting European energy transport networks and the building of new infrastructure (see EUROPE 9782). (E.H. trans fl)