Eurasia Press & News
Romanian President Traian Basescu said on Wednesday that Georgia can become an extremely important country for the European Union energy security.
Georgia, through its position, doubled by a wise policy related to the transit costs, can become an extremely important country for the creation of alternative solutions in the field of the EU energy supplies, either natural gas, or crude oil, said Basescu in a joint press conference with his Georgian counterpart Mikhail Saakashvili, who began a two-day official visit to Bucharest.
Saakashvili said the AGRI gas transport project, promoted by Basescu and signed last month in Bucharest by Romania, Georgia and Azerbaijan, will produce good results not only for the three countries, but also for the entire Europe.
The Georgian president said that there has been so far a monopoly on energy transportation in Europe, stressing that the future belongs to the alternative routes.
According to Basescu, European Commission has expressed its support for the project that will carry the Caspian natural gas to Europe, from Azerbaijan via Georgia and Romania.
The project, currently assessed at 2 billion to 4 billion euros, will have a gas transportation capacity of about 7 billion cubic meters per year.
According to Romania, it is the fastest and most effective gas transport project under construction along Europe’s southern corridor. Since there are no political barriers for its completion, the AGRI might be developed sooner than Nabucco, a proposed natural gas pipeline from Erzurum in Turkey to Baumgarten an der March in Austria.
