| A STEP TOWARDS EUROPE'S ENERGY INDEPENDENCE 13/07/2009 |
| (2009-07-13) |
| Last updated: 2009-07-17 11:20 EET |
What was once nothing more than a fantasy of Europe gaining independence from Russian energy sources, the Nabucco gas pipeline, seems closer to becoming a reality. In the Turkish capital Ankara, the five countries involved in this project – Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Turkey –on Monday signed an intergovernmental agreement and a joint political declaration. This is regarded as an additional guarantee that the project will be implemented. Romanian PM Emil Boc signed the agreement on behalf of our country. Emil Boc.
“The Nabucco project is extremely important to Romania and other EU-member states, from the perspective of energy security. This is why Romania chose to take part in this project that promises great economic benefits. Nabucco is more efficient and less expensive than other similar projects in the region. It thus has all the necessary advantages to attract investors and suppliers, and will be a commercial enterprise that follows market principles.”
Analysts, however, claim that financing sources are yet to be found to build the 3,300 km long pipeline, which will cost some 8 billion Euros. They warn “even if financing sources are identified, there is still a big issue: finding gas suppliers”.
It is also worth mentioning that the prospective suppliers– former Soviet republics in the Caucasus and Central Asia, as well as Egypt, Iraq and Iran – are all currently under unstable political regimes. Romanian analyst Iulian Chifu believes that once the political issues are out of the way, all problems related to suppliers will resolve on their own, as the aforementioned regions “have enough gas for ten Nabucco projects”.
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2025-04-03
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