OREANDA-NEWS.The Ambassador of Belgium to the Russian Federation, Jean Arthur Rezhibo, believes that the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will help strengthen economic relations between Russia and the European Union. "We believe that this is positive in the sense that it will strengthen economic relations between the parties. But it's necessary to respect the rules established by the European Union in the energy sector", a Belgian diplomat told the Russian media on Thursday.

In the Nord Stream 2 application, filed in April this year, two alternative routes were proposed southeast of Bornholm with a length of 164 km and 147 km. The Danish authorities have approved the shortest of them, since, according to the energy agency, it is the safest and meets environmental standards. The northwest route proposed in 2018 was rejected by Denmark, as it could affect shipping in this area, as well as the Natura 2000 network of security sites.

Currently, Nord Stream 2 is built on more than 80%. The project completion date is the end of 2019. Earlier, the head of Gazprom Alexei Miller predicted that it would take about five weeks to obtain the laying of a section of the pipeline through Danish waters after obtaining permission from the country's authorities.