Brussels, 13/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - Slovak Economy Minister Peter Ziga and Bulgarian Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the Eastring gas pipeline project on the sidelines of the informal meeting of EU energy ministers in Bratislava on Wednesday 13 July.
The intergovernmental MoU complements the contract signed in June between gas operators Eustream of Slovakia and Bulgartransgas of Bulgaria as part of a gas pipeline project linking Slovakia, via Hungary and Romania, with Bulgaria from this latter's border with Turkey, using the existing Slovak infrastructure, Eustream, which has been completely renovated since 2009.
“The Eastring project will facilitate the setting up of the EU energy union via the diversification of gas routes and of gas sources”, said Ziga after signing the memorandum, expressing his confidence that it will be possible to strike a similar agreement with Hungary and Romania “in the foreseeable future”. “The Eastring project won't only support central and south-eastern Europe but will also contribute towards the energy security of the whole of Europe”, added Stankov.
“For quite some time we have been discussing the importance of diversification of gas supply routes to ensure that we are not dependent solely on the Ukrainian route. And that is why the Eastring idea came up”, said Ziga when asked by the press about this issue after the ministerial meeting.
“At this moment, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria are very important partners. Yesterday, we held discussions with Hungary. Romania, with elections coming up, is perhaps not in a position to take strategic decisions. We'll wait till after the elections”, the minister added.
“The Eastring project is strategic because it will have an impact on security of supply and diversification of sources. We have to identify synergies with gas route projects developed in the south-east and east of Europe”, he said in a reference to the southern gas corridor project. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)