Brussels, 09/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - The chairman of the Hungarian Parliamentary Nabucco committee, Janos Koka, suggested on Tuesday 3 March that a body be set up to support the gas pipeline project, that is to bring natural gas from Central Asia and the Caspian Sea to the Community market, without passing through Russia. At a press conference in Brussels, Koka said that Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs was “open” to the Hungarian proposal and he said he would try to convince the governments of the countries involved in the project (Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Turkey) and the European Commission to provide the political backing for such a body to be put in place. To support his proposal, Koka said that the political support for the Nabucco project was “fragmented” and that each country was negotiating for itself. The body would be made up of senior national parliamentary officials and would be authorised to hold discussions with suppliers, the EU, the United States and international banks. (E.H./transl.rt)