Brussels, 01/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - EU/Iraq cooperation, which has had a legal basis since 26 May, opens the way for additional gas supplies for the Nabucco gas pipeline.
The European Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger and the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister, Hussein al Chahristani, signed a joint declaration on Monday in Brussels on the strategic energy partnership between the EU and Iraq and gas supplies to Europe from its Middle Eastern partner. Iraq is committed to ensuring long-term gas supplies to the EU through the Southern Corridor, in exchange for access granted by the Commission to the European market for Iraqi gas. The Commissioner said that, “as gas imports will increase in the future, we need new supplier countries and Iraq is naturally amongst them”. The European Commission and the Iraqi government will, in the next few months, define together the volume of gas exports, which could be used to underwrite Iraqi domestic energy infrastructure investment depending on Iraq's domestic requirements. Promotion of renewables and energy efficiency is also at the heart of the EU/Iraq energy partnership. (E.H./transl.fl)