ROMANIA LOBBIES FOR FRENCH INCLUSION IN NABUCCO

Today’s Zaman
March 4 2008
Turkey

The recent exclusion of Gaz de France (GDF) from the $7.3 billion
Nabucco pipeline project made the agenda yesterday in talks between
visiting Turkish President Abdullah Gul and his Romanian counterpart,
President Traian Basescu, with the latter urging Gul for inclusion
of GDF in the project.

Turkey’s BOTAª and Romania’s Transgaz are partners in the Nabucco
consortium, which confirmed in early February that Germany’s
second-largest utility company RWE will join the project aimed at
transporting gas from the Caspian to Europe, lessening dependence
on Russian gas. Meanwhile, GDF was excluded from Nabucco in favor
of Germany’s RWE, becoming the latest victim to suffer from ongoing
bitter political disputes between France and Turkey.

The consortium is now equally owned by RWE and oil and gas companies
in countries the pipeline passes through — Austria’s OMV, Hungary’s
MOL, Turkey’s BOTAª, Bulgaria’s Bulgargaz and Romania’s Transgaz.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s will for having the GDF included
in the Nabucco project was voiced by Basescu during his meeting with
Gul at the presidential Cotroceni Palace. In response, Gul said the
issue would be considered by Turkey, without giving a positive sign.

In early February, Sarkozy paid an official visit to Bucharest where
he said France would make energy one of its top priorities when it
takes over the European Union presidency in the second half of 2008.

Basescu said after meeting with Sarkozy that Romania would support
the involvement of GDF in EU-backed the Nabucco project. France has
long been Romania’s closest ally in the West and has major business
interests in the country, including car maker Renault. France is
Romania’s third largest trade partner. Romania joined the European
Union in 2007.

"Being aware of the close relationship between Turkey and Romania,
the French president is lobbying through the Romanian side. This
kind of lobbying is often done for significant energy projects,"
a Turkish official, who wished to remain anonymous, told Today’s Zaman.

When he was asked at a joint press conference following his meeting
with the Romanian president whether Basescu had been able to persuade
him about GDF’s involvement in the Nabucco project, Gul briefly said:
"Nabucco is very important for us. We hope that it is completed in
the shortest time. We are very open-minded on this issue."

Turkey has been angered by France’s objections to its bid to join the
EU and by French moves to make denying Armenian genocide allegations a
crime. Turkey rejects the label genocide and insists the mass killings
of Anatolian Armenians at the start of the last century were the
result of the chaos of war.

Nabucco’s construction is scheduled for as early as this year, with
operations starting in 2012. The cost of the project is estimated to
be 5 billion euros.

Meanwhile, ahead of the joint press conference by the two presidents,
Romania and Turkey signed the "Agreement for Mutual Encouragement and
Protection of Investments," the "Maritime Agreement," the "Agreement
on Early Notification of Nuclear Accidents" and the "Cultural Exchange
Program," during the visit which will last until tomorrow.

Turkey and Romania are each other’s biggest trade partners in the
Balkans — the trade volume between the two countries reached $6.7
billion by the end of 2007. The goal set for bilateral trade volume as
of 2010 is $10 billion. Currently, there are more than 10,000 Turkish
company registered in Romania. The 68 Turkish contractor companies
in Romania have already taken on 103 projects, which are together
worth $3.1 billion.

Ankara states that there are many opportunities for cooperation between
Turkey and Romania, especially due to Romania’s membership in both NATO
and the European Union, it being one of the leading regional economies
and being a founding member of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
(BSEC). During Gul’s visit, Basescu reiterated his country’s support
for Turkey’s full EU membership.

While in Bucharest, Gul also met with Turkish people living in the
country, calling on them to hold on to their moral values.

"Turkish and Islamic cultures have always lived together in Balkans.

If they are separated, then you’ll forget your identity," Gul told
an audience at the Intercontinental Hotel. He also urged the Turkish
community in Romania to show loyalty to their country of citizenship.

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