The governments of Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey stressed the potential of Nabucco to supply the energy markets of the Western Balkans and the Visegrad group countries (Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary) in a joint declaration adopted at the fifth Nabucco Committee meeting which convened in Bucharest, Romania. The committee meeting was hosted by the Government of Romania.

The governments further expressed their commitment to engage in developing the necessary gas interconnections to ensure that Nabucco can also supply the countries in the Southern and Central-North dimension of Europe.

The State Parties call on the European Council, which will meet on 22 May to address the completion of the Internal Energy Market, to note the wider potential of Nabucco to provide access to new sources of gas for promoting growth and competition at the European level. The State Parties also approached the European Commission to continue to provide the project with the necessary regulatory and technical assistance.

The participants at the Committee Meeting also welcomed the progress of the project since the previous committee meeting was held in Budapest in April, and the work done by the authorities in the transit countries to ensure the successful implementation of the project. In particular they highlighted the efforts of the Nabucco Tax Subcommittee to align taxation issues under the Nabucco Intergovernmental Agreement and its detailed recommendation regarding the application of the tax provisions under the Agreement. States Parties now have an expert basis from within the Nabucco Committee to complete the necessary tax instruments or agreements under their domestic legal order.

Frank Siebert, CFO of NABUCCO Gas Pipeline International GmbH said: “Investors need predictability and stability when it comes to cash flow for a project. We have now achieved this basis thanks to the recommendations of the Nabucco Tax Subcommittee.”

The declaration highlights the complementarity of the Nabucco and TANAP (Trans Anatolian Pipeline) projects, and welcomed the progress made in the realization of TANAP by the Turkish and Azeri authorities. Delegations from both countries were also present at the meeting. Nabucco recently concluded a Memorandum of Understanding with TANAP to ensure effective cooperation in the realization of both projects.

Reinhard Mitschek, CEO, NABUCCO Gas Pipeline International GmbH said: “We have reached several milestones since the Budapest Nabucco committee meeting: Bulgaria became the second country to grant Nabucco the environmental permit to construct, we launched the registration phase of the Open Season to levels of interest that surpassed expectations. The national regulators also granted Nabucco a prolongation of the exemption from EU legislation on Third Party Access, in alignment with the delivery timelines of Shah Deniz gas. Nabucco is the shortest route to the markets of South Eastern Europe, and remains the best option to open the Southern Gas Corridor.”