NABUCCO IN FOCUS OF EU SUMMIT

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.03.2009 17:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Nabucco pipeline became the center of EU summit
dispute in Brussels.

Europe’s commitment to a strategic gas pipeline that would bypass
Russia was hanging in the balance last night as member states made a
final push to agree a Euro 5 billion energy infrastructure proposal
that has proved unusually divisive.

Germany, the biggest contributor to the EU budget, has repeatedly
expressed reservations about the plan, which also includes funding
for gas and electricity interconnections, offshore wind and carbon
capture and storage pilot plants.

Its opposition in recent days has centered on Nabucco, which German
government officials say would provide no stimulus to the economy
because work would not begin for years.

Concluding a two-day summit in Brussels, EU leaders also sought
to strengthen market confidence in central and eastern European
economies by doubling the size of a EU balance of payments facility
fund for non-eurozone countries to Euro 50 billion, The Financial
Times reported.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress