St. Petersburg, January 7 (Interfax) - The Nord Stream gas pipeline will be commissioned in October 2011, head of the pipeline shareholders' committee Gerhard Schroeder said at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin

By now all European Union countries have given their consent to the Nord Stream project and should support it, he said.

The project is important for the energy supplies of Europe as a whole, Schroeder said, adding that the pipeline is not a replacement for the existing ones but a supplement to them.

Schroeder also supported the proposal of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to use international observers on the Russian-Ukrainian border in the context of the current gas dispute.

The Nord Stream pipeline will connect Russian gas exports withGerman customers via Baltic Sea pipelines.