UPDATE:Turkish PM Threatens To Review Nabucco Gas Pipe Policy
January 19 2009 - 8:39AM
Dow Jones News
(Adds quotes from Turkey's PM and background)
BRUSSELS (AFP)--Turkey threatened Monday to review its position
on a strategic new gas pipeline for Europe that would bypass Russia
if its European Union accession talks were blocked.
The warning by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan comes amid
Europe's worst gas crisis caused by a dispute between Russia and
Ukraine that has led to gas shortages across the continent.
The crisis has sharpened attention on the need to reduce
Europe's dependence on Russian gas, with the proposed Nabucco
pipeline that would carry supplies from the Caspian Sea or Middle
East via Turkey to Austria seen as critical.
"If we're faced with a situation where the energy chapter is
blocked then we would review our position" on Nabucco, Erdogan said
during a conference in Brussels.
Turkey's bid to join the E.U. requires 35 chapters covering key
areas of governance to be opened and agreed, with energy closed
because of objections by Cyprus, which joined the E.U. in 2004.
"The other side ought to be fair in his treatment," said
Erdogan. "They should not prefer southern Cyprus, located far away
from Europe and only a few hundred thousand people, compared with
Turkey with 70 million people.
"We have to talk about the facts openly. Southern Cyprus is
putting pressure so that some chapters are not opened, like
energy."
Turkey refuses to endorse the internationally recognized Greek
Cypriot government but recognizes the breakaway Turkish Cypriot
statelet in the north of the island.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey seized its
northern third in response to an Athens-engineered Greek Cypriot
coup aimed at uniting the island with Greece.
Erdogan said he hoped to see "a leap" in Turkey's efforts to
join the E.U. in 2009.
Some E.U. nations firmly oppose the idea of Turkey, a mainly
Muslim country of 70 million, joining the bloc amid misgivings
among voters. France favors a special relationship that stops short
of full membership for Turkey.
Erdogan criticized negative comments about his country in the
E.U. that meant public support for joining the E.U. was waning.
"Our people are reacting to some negative declarations from the
E.U. side which question Turkey's accession to the EU. But we're
very decisive, it's a top priority issue," Erdogan said.
"We don't ask for special treatment, but a fair and equal
treatment. We are not here to be a burden for the E.U. we want to
share the burden."
Nabucco is a proposed 3,400-kilometer pipeline between Turkey
and Austria that would transport up to 31 billion cubic meters of
gas a year.
The pipeline currently has six shareholders - OMV AG (OMV.VI) of
Austria, MOL Nyrt. (MOL.BU) of Hungary, Transgaz of Romania,
Bulgargaz of Bulgaria, Botas of Turkey and RWE AG (RWE.XE) of
Germany - but progress has so been slow because of the number of
approvals and agreements needed.
Ministers from the six countries are set to meet in Budapest on
Jan. 26-27 and the head of the project, Reinhard Mitschek, hopes
for a final green light this year.
Russia and Italy have put forward a rival pipeline project,
called South Stream.
One of the main hurdles to Nabucco has been financing.
The consortium recently raised the estimated cost to about EUR8
billion compared with the initial projection of EUR4.4 billion.
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