Main focus of Tuesday, July 14, 2009

A breakthrough for Nabucco

Turkey and the four EU states Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria signed an agreement for the construction of the Nabucco gas pipeline in Ankara on Monday. The pipeline is to supply the EU with natural gas from the Caspian region, thus making it less dependent on Russian gas supplies.

Sme - Slovakia

The liberal daily Sme praises the signing of the Nabucco project agreement as "a first concrete step toward at least reducing the dependence - above all of post-communist Europe - on Russian gas and the Russian empire. But the main question remains unanswered: where will the gas transported by Nabucco come from? Europe is rightly sceptical about the dependability of most gas exporters. ... Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are highly dependent on Moscow, which opposes Nabucco with all the means at its disposal. ... Turkey has long attempted to use Nabucco to hold Europe at ransom over its EU accession. True, it has now back-pedalled somewhat, but it has given no guarantee it will not change its opinion once more if its EU accession is delayed. Hungary and Germany are playing a double game by supporting Nabucco as well as Russian projects meant to hinder Nabucco. Nevertheless, this agreement at least offers hope for a solution to the current unsustainable situation." (14/07/2009)

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Diário de Notícias - Portugal

The daily Diário de Notícias sees Europe's chance to be less dependent on Russian gas supplies in the construction of the Nabucco pipeline: "Nabucco is an international project of key strategic importance, not only for the European Union but also for Turkey because most of the new gas pipeline would pass through this country. The agreement ends the Russian monopoly over gas supplies from the East to Europe, which has already triggered two gas disputes between Moscow and Kiev. The EU currently imports 25 percent of its natural gas from Slavic countries. Nabucco represents an alternative way for it to cover 10 percent of its gas requirements. Since Azerbaijan doesn't have enough reserves everything now depends on the concretisation of the project as well as the negotiating skills [of the project partners] in finding new partners who can deliver natural gas." (14/07/2009)

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Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Germany

The daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung sees the construction of the Nabucco pipeline as an important step towards more security for Europe's energy supplies: "[The pipeline] won't block the path to enslavement to Russian gas but it could make it more bearable. This applies to both Europeans and potential suppliers such as Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. If Europeans buy their gas from these states directly it could advance the independence of the states on Russia's back doorstep. This makes Russia all the more eager to retain its control over their gas fields. Politicians have now, belatedly, recognised this and helped to get Nabucco on its feet. Germany has intensified its diplomatic activities in the Caspian basin and the EU has stepped up the pressure on Turkey. The international agreement that has now been signed in Ankara is an important step on the path to more energy security, but it's no guarantee." (14/07/2009)

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Gândul - Romania

The daily Gândul writes that Russia will continue to play a crucial role in the European energy market despite the Nabucco project: "Compared with the 20 billion euros the Russians estimate South Stream will cost Nabucco is a real bargain, costing 'only' eight billion. The only problem is that the money for Nabucco must come not only from the EU and participating states (which are not about to invest in two similar projects in the midst of the economic crisis): there must also be private investors. However the major Western companies have already decided that South Stream has better prospects [of finding gas suppliers]. How can one otherwise explain the decision by Germany and France to cut funds for Nabucco if it's the sole European project? Yesterday in Ankara the Europeans and Americans admitted what they have been denying for years: it won't work without Russia. The next move belongs to the Kremlin." (14/07/2009)

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