Brussels, 11/02/2009 (Agence Europe) - In an interview with Austrian daily Wirtschaftsblatt on 10 February, European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs says he expects an intergovernmental decision on the Nabucco gas pipeline project at Southern Gas Corridor summit which will bring together leaders and ministers from the EU, the countries bordering on the Caspian Sea (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan), Georgia and Turkey in the Czech Republic on 7 May. The Nabucco gas pipeline, if it goes ahead, will bring gas from Central Asia to the EU without going through Russia. Five member states (Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary and Romania) and Turkey will take part in the project. On the initiative of the Hungarian government, Budapest hosted an international conference at the end of January to promote the project and attract investors (see EUROPE 9827). The following day, the European Commission promised Community support of the order of €250 million, as part of its recovery plan, for the launch of the Nabucco project. (E.H./transl.rt)