Brussels, 07/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - Although, unlike Slovakia, the Czech Republic did not sign the letter addressed to the Commission last November, criticising the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline project, both countries did reach an agreement during a ministerial meeting on Friday 4 December, on the importance of gas transit through Ukraine as the main transiting route to Europe.
At the end of the meeting in Prague with the Slovak Minister for the Economy, Vazil Hudak, the Czech Minister for Industry, Jan Mladek, explained: “We both agree on the need to keep Ukraine's transit role as the economically most effective method of natural gas transport to Europe as well as both countries' long-term interest in the completion of the North-South corridor and further diversification of transport routes and source territories.”
The Czech Republic refused to join the recent appeal made by seven member states from Central and Eastern Europe: Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, to oppose the expansion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which seeks to reduce the transiting of Russian gas to western Europe via Ukraine. The signatories emphasise their fears about the possible negative impact on their respective energy security (see EUROPE 11443) of this project. The Czech Republic deemed the way in which the letter was formulated to the Commission was too harsh.
According to the Czech media source, CTK, on the basis of a press release from the Czech Ministry for Industry, Mladek provided assurances to Hudak on Friday that the construction of a gas pipeline between the Czech Republic in Austria, the BACI project, did not intend to bypass Slovakia. The main aim of the BACI project is to connect the respective Czech and Austrian gas transport systems. The project's preparatory phase is being co-financed by the EU programme for Trans-European Energy Networks and its completion date is 2019-2020. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)