Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
LAST UPDATE | 10 Oct 2023
EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT Ursula von der Leyen has condemned “any act of deliberate destruction of critical infrastructure”, after a gas pipeline leak between Finland and Estonia was detected.
Helsinki said today it suspected external intervention was behind the leak and had received support from NATO in its investigation.
“The ongoing investigation is based on the assumption of a possible deliberate act… We stand in full solidarity with Finland and Estonia,” von der Leyen said in a statement after speaking with the leaders of both countries.
Earlier, the Finnish President said that a leak leading to the shutdown of a natural gas pipeline from Estonia to Finland this weekend was probably caused by an “external” element.
“It is likely that the damage to both the gas pipeline and the telecommunications cable is the result of external activity,” president Sauli Niinisto said today.
The head of state said the cause of the damage was not yet clear and both countries were cooperating in an ongoing investigation.
Niinisto said he had been in touch with NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg and NATO was ready to assist in the investigation.
“NATO is sharing information and stands ready to support Allies concerned,” Stoltenberg said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Finland’s gas network operator, state-owned Gasgrid, said on Sunday that the Balticconnector pipeline had been shut down over a suspected leak.
The operator said “an unusual drop in pressure” had been noticed in the pipeline running along the seabed of the Gulf of Finland.
Gasgrid added that the Finnish gas system was stable, with supply secured through a floating liquefied natural gas terminal (LNG) in Inkoo.
In late September 2022, a series of underwater blasts ruptured three of the four pipelines that make up Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, a major conduit for Russian natural gas exports to Western Europe, spewing gas into the Baltic Sea.
Because the leaks occurred in their exclusive economic zones, Denmark and Sweden opened probes into the attack, as did Germany.
All three countries have kept a tight lid on their investigations.
Commissioned in 2019, the Balticconnector has been the only gas import channel to Finland, apart from LNG, since Russian imports were halted in May 2022, following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia stopped supplying gas after Finland refused to pay in rubles, a condition imposed on “unfriendly countries” — including European Union member states — as a way to sidestep Western financial sanctions against Russia’s central bank.
Natural gas accounts for around five percent of Finland’s energy consumption, mainly used in industry and combined heat and power production.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Everything is a cartel in Ireland. And the people are too submissive to do anything about it..
@munsterman: no fight left in the Irish anymore. Always voting for same old failed pattern.
@Scundered:
There is no alternative to vote for unfortunately
@Scundered: Go out and do something about it then and stop moaning on the journal
@Nick Allen: Of course there is. Even if you have reservations about the alternative, you have no one to blame but yourself if you keep voting for the same punishment.
Nick Allen. Just like there is always a choice. There is also an alterntive. You may not like it but it is there.
@michael:
Reservations is an understatement. The alternative to FF/FG is SF, AAA / Solidarity, Labour or independents. SF and the AAA do not have a workable fiscal policy to lead the whole country forward while Labour is just a spent force and the independents are just looking to local issues.
@ray.farrelly:
By saying there is no alternative the implication is that there is no credible alternative. It is common use of English to leave out the word credible.
@Nick Allen: “do not have a workable fiscal policy” Really? Wasn’t Sinn Fein’s budget proposal the only fully costed one by the Department of Finance? The other were wrong on their fiscal space.
That aside. I believe if SF took office many of their detractors would be silenced, but many of their voter base would be sorely disappointed, as they would shift to centre (right). I would consider them a centrist party.
Liebour are left in name only. They wrought terrible destruction on the poorest in society during the recession, and are the posterchild of privatisation. You can hardly call that left wing!
Nick’s account is one that comes here to agree with everyone, but tell them “there’s no alternative, there’s no alternative….” Not with that attitude.
Nick. Allen. No credible alternative. According to who?
@Good Early:
I am not sure I understand what you summation of my account is, I doubt you even understand what you have written.
My view of the alternatives for governing Ireland is simply my view. FG/FF is the safest pair of hands we have at the moment. The others are two skewed in their ideology and do not look to look after the whole country. They target low income earners and unemployment with promises of increasing tax and lots of freebies. If I wanted to live in Venezuela I would move there.
@ray.farrelly:
The electorate which do not put them in a position of power when they vote at every general election
@ray.farrelly: according to anybody with a brain. It was this Left alternative that called for the nationalisation of Dell, wants to increase corporation tax and drive businesses and jobs out if the country. Why would anyone vote for a worse alternative???
@Timmy: welcome to the Internet timmy, took you a while.
@Good Early: I certainly won’t be ever voting SF. All they care about is the people on social welfare who won’t pay and won’t work and no I’m not talking about those unfortunate enough to have lost jobs but the ones who never worked and won’t work. And they expect us to keep that show on the road. No thanks. So that’s no alternative.
@Mary Murphy:
With you on that Mary. I too have a lot of compassion for genuine people on welfare and I fully agree that the tax payers should pay their tax and these people should receive welfare. The SF philosophy looks to want to feed on lazy scroungers for voters and pushes the ‘lets not pay for anything and tax the workers’ agenda far too much
@Mary Murphy: well said Mary. Sinn Fein seems adapt their economic policy to go with whatever is flavour of the month.
Flavour of the month economics doesn’t work.
Any cuts to the cost of living or rise in the minimum wage only ever results in increased rental/house prices. Pure greed.
Just over €24,000 annual salary…”hang on while I go with my €85,000 mortgage and €10,000 deposit to pick between all the sub €100,000 properties around to start a family. Seeeesh, better look sub €50,000 everything just keeps getting pushed up by competing bids”
Most of the food is processed muck
Meat is still an outrageous price
@Thaddius T Sawballs:
It’s entirely your choice what food is put in the shopping trolley and it is very easy to avoid processed muck and generally much cheaper.
@Nick Allen: No need to eat dead animal. Stay away from the processed “food” .
Veg in Lidl or Aldi is cheap and the stock turns over so quick it’s usually fresher than Dunnes/Tesco/Supervalue.
@Niallers:
But our bodies are designed to eat dead animal and it is a good source of protein, widely available, creates huge employment and when prepared properly it is extremely tasty
@Nick Allen: I agree it creates loads of employment and that it can be tasty but you actually don’t need it.
B12 vitamin for sure but you can get that from eggs, milk or supplement.
When you look into it you really don’t need to have any animal killed. Plenty of other food choices out there.
It’s probably the reason also why dublin is losing out to frankfurt in getting all the banking jobs post brexit. We’re paying the price of our housing crisis and having politicians who can’t run the country properly.
@Adrian:
Losing out to Frankfurt in getting all the banking job as a result of Brexit.
Care to elaborate on this with some facts?
@Nick Allen: Frankfurt emerging as the big winner from Brexit fallout
@Adrian:
I mention of any jobs moving to FF in that article. That is an pinion which says FF is well placed to attract jobs with the main reason being that the central bank is there. It even says the only expect about 200 jobs in the next few years.
Timber log cabins to live in oh wait the government can’t get half the value the cabin in taxes,they don’t fluxuate madly in property tax,they’re not valuble enough for the unfair deal scheme,and the don’t turn every one into an indentured slave for life with a monster morgage, and a property developer can’t reef the living daylights out of the customers because any one with hands can fit one together
Any company that pays less than living wage is a human rights abuser and needs to be identified as such.
20c an hour extra. 8 quid a week. I don’t know I might start looking at investing in property abroad with this generous windfall.
And a new car.
Cheaper food thanks to Ali and Lidl. Not to our government.
The living wage means absolutely nothing as those in need of it won’t get it. Until the minimum wage is linked to inflation government and think tank ideas like the living wage are completely pointless
It’s only a “living” wage if you exclude putting a roof over your head, not needing transport, and living off the cheapest processed food that your tiny money will buy.
Food prices are not down… a friend of mine his health insurance was €3200 . Not down but up. !! Who are they kidding.. social welfare should now follow this trend..
What a croc of s@@@te
What is it going to do for people telling employers etc that a PC living wage hourly rate is €11.70 an hour …..never going to happen especially when you have government sponsored slavery schemes around
C€€€st why do we have so many gobsh@@es in this country
Low skill/no skill jobs should be geared towards students (including secondary students) and those who have low skills or no skills as a starting point towards their future careers, not a career choice.
have your say