Funding problems relating to the Nabucco project

26.2.2009

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1501/09
by Rareş-Lucian Niculescu (PPE‑DE) and Alexandru Nazare (PPE‑DE)
to the Council

The Nabucco gas pipeline is a key project for the EU's strategy of ensuring secure energy supplies, and is one of the few projects capable of contributing to genuinely diversifying the range of Member States' direct suppliers of natural gas.

The recent decision by the European Council to reduce funding for the Nabucco project from EUR 250 million to EUR 200 million, taken only three weeks after the Commission's proposal for speeding up the project, appears to be inconsistent with EU energy policy and could be read as a negative political signal regarding the project. Lack of funding sources cannot be invoked as a genuine obstacle, since the Union currently has EUR 3.5 billion worth of unallocated own resources for energy projects such as Nabucco. In addition, the World Bank has expressed its willingness to co‑finance the project.

In view of the importance of the Nabucco project for energy security in the EU:

What measures is the Council considering with a view to meeting Europe's citizens' expectations concerning security of energy supply, in the context of the present political and financial obstacles?

Is the Council considering a strategy for dealing with all the potential obstacles to this project?

OJ C 189, 13/07/2010