The highest court in the Netherlands has lifted a temporary ban on the construction of a controversial natural gas drilling platform in the North Sea.
On Friday, judges in The Hague ruled that the Dutch energy company One-Dyas was allowed to construct a drilling platform.
However, this does not yet mean that the legal challenge against the gas drilling has been finalized. It is not yet known when a final decision will be made.
Earlier this month, a Dutch court ordered the suspension of work at the drilling platform, located off the Dutch Wadden Sea island of Schiermonnikoog and the German island of Borkum, after Dutch and German environmentalists filed a lawsuit.
In 2022, environmentalists filed a lawsuit against the construction of the platform. The Hague Administrative Court then imposed a temporary halt to construction due to shortcomings in the environmental permit.
After the Economy Ministry amended the environmental licence in June, the construction freeze was lifted.
One-Dyas plans to extract natural gas off the two North Sea islands this year and has set up a production platform in Dutch territorial waters.
According to the plans, production is to take place in both Dutch and German territory, close to the Wadden Sea National Park.
Both countries must therefore give their consent. The Netherlands has done so. An authorization procedure is still underway on the German side.