Black Sea countries say pipelines are road to Europe
By DEREK GATOPOULOS
.c The Associated Press
KOMOTINI, Greece (AP) – Trade and energy officials from 12 Black Sea
and Caucasus countries pledged Saturday to expand ties with the
European Union through the development of major energy networks,
including new pipelines to Caspian Sea oil fields.
“Everyone wins,” said Evripidis Stylianidis, Greece’s overseas trade
minister at the end of four days of meetings. “Pipelines are good for
the economy, for the environment, and for international development –
and that helps peace and stability in the region.”
Oil companies and regional governments are keen to find alternatives
to shipping Caspian oil through Turkey’s busy Bosporus Strait, already
used to transport more than 50 million tons of oil a year.
“There is a growing danger of an accident with the concentration of
many ships in the strait,” Stylianidis said after the meetings in the
northeastern city of Komotini, hosted by the Organization of Black Sea
Economic Cooperation, a regional trade forum founded in 1992.
“Energy via pipelines will be faster and cheaper, and will pose a
smaller environmental risk,” he said.
In June, the new Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is due to start
operation, carrying Caspian oil 1760 kilometer (1,100 miles) across
Azerbaijan and Georgia to Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.
Additional projects are planned to link Bulgaria’s Black Sea port of
Burgas to Alexandroupolis in neighboring Greece and Vlora, Albania.
Turkey’s deputy foreign minister, Ender Arat, said the Baku-Ceyhan
project would start on time, despite reports of delays.
“There were some construction delays in Georgia and other problems,
but all of this has been resolved,” Arat said.
He said a proposed pipeline across Turkey from the Black Sea port of
Samsun to Ceyhan would be a cheaper option than planned Balkan
ventures. But Greece’s Stylianidis said most proposed pipeline routes
were not competitive, but complementary.
“Every country proposes the route that serves its own interests,” he
said. “There is a strong will of the governments involved to back
the Burgas-Alexandroupolis project.”
Greece passed the rotating six-month presidency of the Organization of
Black Sea Economic Cooperation to Moldova on Saturday.
Representatives of the organization’s 12 members – Greece, Albania,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldavia, Serbia-Montenegro,
Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine – also signed a declaration
pledging closer cooperation, in areas from energy and tourism to
fighting organized crime and ties with the European Union.
Part of that cooperation includes plans to connect regional
electricity and natural gas networks across to western
Europe. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldavia and Ukraine are already
receiving EU assistance with financial aid and advice on market
oriented reforms through the EU’s new Neighborhood Policy program.
04/23/05 11:23 EDT