EU, Turkey to sign Nabucco deal

BRUSSELS, Belgium

Several EU countries and Turkey will sign an inter-governmental agreement on the construction of the Nabucco pipeline in Ankara on July 13th, the European Commission (EC) announced on Friday (July 3rd). Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to host the ceremony.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the project will ensure co-operation among the participating states and will solve the general energy issue that Europe faces.

The pipeline will connect the Caspian region, the Middle East and Egypt via Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, with gas markets in Central and Western Europe. The project will bypass Russia, in a bid to reduce the EU’s energy dependence on Russian gas.