"The government has given permission for the Nord Stream 2, to lay a gas pipeline in the Swedish economic zone in the Baltic Sea, Sweden just cannot reject this project," the minister said.

STOCKHOLM, 7 June. / TASS /. The Swedish government has given permission for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Swedish economic zone in the Baltic Sea, said Swedish Minister of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Mikael Damberg on Thursday at a press conference.

Damberg reminded that the government considered the Nord Stream 2 application in accordance with the international law and conventions that do not allow the Cabinet to give a negative response to the gas pipeline project.

"But I want to emphasize that the government has a negative attitude towards the project as a whole, since there is a risk that it contradicts the goals of the Energy Union, and also because of the consequences for Ukraine as a transit country for Russian gas, because of significant economic losses, which could arise," added Damberg. He believes that the EU "should reduce dependence on Russian gas" as an instrument of "political pressure."

The process of obtaining permits in Sweden began in the fall of 2016. A comprehensive environmental impact assessment (EIA) was carried out, which is a mandatory step in the process of obtaining a permit. EIA and comments received in the course of public discussions became the basis for deciding whether to issue the permit.

In Germany and Finland, Nord Stream 2 AG has already received a full set of permits for the construction and operation of the gas pipeline. The procedures for obtaining permits in Denmark are on schedule.

Earlier on Thursday, Bloomberg reported that Sweden had issued authorization for the construction of the "Nord Stream 2".

Commissioning of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is scheduled for the end of 2019. The pipeline will stretch across the bottom of the Baltic Sea from the Russian coast to the coast of Germany. The throughput capacity of each of the two lines is 27.5 bln cubic meters a year.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline will bypass the transit states - Ukraine, Belarus, Poland and other Eastern European and Baltic countries. The gas pipeline will pass through the exclusive economic zones and territorial waters of five states - Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.