Brussels, 29/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - Speaking at a conference organised by the EIB in Warsaw on Friday 26 November, European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek proposed that a cross-border network be set up among the 27 EU member states, Russia and the main supply or transit countries in Central Asia and North Africa. He likened the network to a sort of Schengen energy area, similar to the Schengen free movement area between 25 European countries. The idea was backed by Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger, who hoped that Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iraq would, in the not too distant future, link into the EU energy infrastructure. Oettinger also called for closer consultation between the EU and its main Mediterranean energy suppliers, especially Algeria. (E.H./transl.rt)