Brussels, 14/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - It was not just down to coincidence that, on Friday 14 September, Budapest played host to a conference organised by the Financial Times on the prospects for EU gas supplies and the role of the Nabucco pipeline, and that Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány, along with European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, was the main speaker. Somewhat reticent hitherto, the Hungarian government now “firmly” backs the Nabucco pipeline, which will run for 3,300 kilometres, linking Turkey and Austria, via Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary, and will allow the EU to be supplied with gas from Central Asia and the Middle East, especially Iran, to the detriment of Russia.
“With regard to Nabucco, I'd like to confirm Hungary's total support for the EU in its efforts to integrate its gas supply,” the Hungarian prime minister said on Friday, opening the conference which brought promoters of the project and investors together in Budapest. “Nabucco has the advantage of offering new supplies with a new itinerary. Its only problem is how long it is taking - it was started in 2002 and we're already in the second half of 2007,” Gyurcsány went on, adding that he expected “more dynamism” from the EU on this matter. Under the terms of the project set up in Vienna in 2004, it was originally planned that the gas pipeline would be operational from 2012. The energy suppliers taking part in the project - OMV (Austria), MOL (Hungary), Transgaz (Romania), Bulgargaz (Bulgaria) and Botas (Turkey) - are still looking for a sixth associate.
Not hesitating to call the Nabucco project a “dream”, Gyurcsány said only recently that it only existed on paper, and did not have the necessary financial and political backing, unlike the alternative Blue Stream project, which has the support of Russia. The Hungarian prime minister, who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has long expressed reservations over Nabucco so as not to ruffle feathers in Moscow. On Friday, he confirmed that he was not backing Nabucco rather than Blue Stream, stressing that several new pipelines would be needed to guarantee the EU's energy supply in the future. He also said that he hoped that gas importing countries (like Hungary which depends on Russia for 80% of its gas supply) would form a “united front” against the monopoly held by suppliers. Gyurcsány also gave his support to the construction of a third gas pipeline, South Stream, which would provide the Community market with Russian gas through Bulgaria and Italy. “If South Stream is built, we'd have no need for Blue Stream for the time being, but a number of different pipelines will still be necessary in the long term,” he said.
On Tuesday 11 September, Hungarian Economy Minister Janos Koka said he thought that Hungary had made a “mistake” in not backing Nabucco in the past. “The mistake Hungary made is that we repeated too many times that the project was only a dream and so we actually contributed to the project staying a dream,” he said. Budapest has now put its full weight behind the energy project which the Commission sees as a priority. (eh)