In return for their commitment to supply gas to Europe, the EU offered to provide more trade and stronger transport links to gas producers and transit countries such as Turkey and Azerbaijan, which form a so-called 'southern corridor'.
The deal, signed in Prague by leaders from Europe, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia, envisions the creation of a central EU gas-buying consortium and new terms for the transport of Caspian gas.
The declaration commits the EU, as a consumer, to providing producer countries with reliable commitments on aggregate demand. It commits producer countries to identifying specific additional volumes of gas and oil that have not already been commercially committed, and which can be dedicated specifically to the EU. And it explicitly recognises the need for commitments by transit countries for a long-term, predictable and stable regulatory regime.
Kazakhstan and others refused to sign declaration
But on the negative side, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan refused to sign the declaration.
"We haven't overcome all obstacles by far," acknowledged outgoing Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek, for whom this was the last summit as holder of the six-month EU presidency, before being replaced by new prime minister Jan Fischer.
"It is obvious that these countries don't like to sign this type of declaration and never do that, and today was no exception," Topolánek said, adding that Azerbaijan had signed because it "is nursing European hopes, unlike Central Asian countries".
But he kept his message positive, comparing the project to "a new silk road, where we'll see the flow of information, goods, people and energy in both ways".
Topolánek said the EU should concentrate its efforts on a single project, such as the construction of the proposed 3,300 km (2,000 mile) Nabucco pipeline, if its gas plan was to gain momentum.
The $10 billion Nabucco project envisages pumping Caspian gas via Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary to Austria, but it has only secured a fifth of the gas it needs to be viable. Its main source of gas from Azerbaijan may be delayed until 2016.
Leaders at the summit also agreed that EU countries and Turkey would sign an intergovernmental deal on conditions for putting gas through Nabucco by the end of June -- a move that would remove one of the main uncertainties for potential investors.
The EU has talked about diversifying its gas supplies for decades, to no avail, but has strengthened its resolve since a row between Russia and transit country Ukraine in January left European homes unheated.
Simmering tensions with Moscow since Russia's brief war with Georgia last August have added to the EU's resolve.
Gas buyer
The summit agreement called for progress on a Caspian Development Corporation to act as a central EU gas-buyer - a move aimed at ending the bloc's long-running problems with securing deals in the region.
"It is difficult to commit to buying," said European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, who does not have the remit to strike deals for the bloc.
"The process takes longer when the EU is involved than for state-owned companies, like in China."
European Investment Bank President Philippe Maystadt said the bank had held funding talks with the consortium behind Nabucco and those behind two other proposed pipelines to bring Caspian gas to Europe - the TAP pipeline into Hungary and ITGI pipe into Italy.
Maystadt said while the three projects were all focused on carrying gas from Azerbaijan, there was not enough Azeri gas to go around and some would need to find alternative sources.
"What is possible is that one project would go ahead faster and this project could supply Azeri gas," he said.
"Other projects that came later would need to get gas from Turkmenistan, which would imply the creation of a link through the Caspian Sea."
The summit agreement laid out plans to look further south for new gas supplies, by seeking an energy memorandum with Iraq as soon as possible and by helping Egypt to develop its own export potential.
(EurActiv with Reuters.)
