'South Stream' controversy
Speaking to the Parliament's industry, research and energy committee, Piebalgs said Turkey's recent decision to accept South Stream passing through its territorial waters would not hamper Nabucco (EurActiv 21/08/09).
"We have taken note [of the Russian-Turkish agreement], but we trust Turkey for Nabucco," said Piebalgs, who is Latvia's candidate commissioner in the next EU executive.
Turkey recently lifted the main obstacles to its role in the Nabucco gas pipeline and hosted a landmark signing ceremony for the project, which is expected to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian gas (EurActiv 14/07/09).
Piebalgs was also asked about Bulgaria's new government, which reportedly questioned the country's role in South Stream. Piebalgs said the Commission was not involved in any decision-making on South Stream, although he had personally invited countries participating to the project to make a presentation in Brussels, without success.
The energy commissioner said that it was "up to Bulgaria to decide" its role in the project, adding that in future, he would like such projects to be discussed in an EU framework beforehand. But he added that under the present treaties, Italy - the main EU actor in 'South Stream' - and Bulgaria had the sovereign right to decide by themselves.
Bulgaria's new Prime Minister Boyko Borissov met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin yesterday, at the commemoration in Gdańsk (Poland) of the 70th anniversary of the beginning of World War II.
According to the daily Dnevnik, EurActiv's media partner in Bulgaria, Borissov told Putin that his government was still investigating how much money it can dedicate to infrastructure projects, as the previous cabinet had depleted the country's budget. Borissov reportedly told Putin that a decision would be taken in the next three months.
Nord Steam doubts
During the meeting, Polish MEPs also challenged Piebalgs over 'Nord Stream', another Gazprom-sponsored pipeline, which is designed to bring Russian gas under the Baltic Sea directly to Germany, bypassing Ukraine.
Piebalgs made it plain that the EU considered Nord Stream to be a project of European interest, indirectly rebuking a recent outburst by Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, who said the project was not a priority for the Union (EurActiv 27/08/09).
"Nord Stream will strengthen our security of supply. It will not weaken it," Piebalgs said.
Regarding environmental concerns surrounding the project, an issue raised by a number of MEPs, he said thorough scrutiny was underway and that the appropriate bodies would give the answers. He insisted that the consultation process concerning the pipeline's environmental impact was "not a political issue" and that Nord Stream did not run counter to the Baltic Sea strategy's environmental ambitions (see EurActiv 11/06/09).
Piebalgs expressed cautious optimism as to recurring payment conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, which led last January to a major gas crisis in many EU countries.
'We will survive'
"Are supplies guaranteed for the winter? Yes, we will survive," said Piebalgs. He said the EU was better prepared now to face potential crises, because the Gas Coordination Group was working effectively. He also explained that the EU was trying to improve Russia-Ukraine relations, which he said suffered during the transit fees controversy.
"If transit fees are not interesting for Ukraine, we have a problem," Piebalgs said. But he added that negotiations were moving in the right direction and that prices were being adjusted to the market.
Regarding relations between member countries and the Commission on energy issues, Piebalgs said European capitals wanted the Commission to be highly visible during crisis time.
"If you are successful, we will thank you. If you are not successful, we will shoot you," he said amid laughter.
