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Analytics: Europeâ€™s response to Russia - Constanza-Trieste project

05 February 2008 13:56 (UTC +04:00)

The ink had hardly dried on the agreements signed with participation of President Vladimir Putin, when Bulgarian President Georgi Pyrvanov stated that his country still gives political support to Nabucco gas pipeline. Prime Minister Sergey Stanyshev even claimed that South Stream and Nabucco pipelines supplement each other.
â€œSome say Bulgaria betrayed European Union and supported Russiaâ€™s interests and this project is the alternative of Nabucco. Itâ€™s nonsense.â€ It is interesting that this statement coincided with the statements of Sofia-accredited U.S. diplomats that Russiaâ€™s strengthening positions in the Balkans worry them. Prime Minister of Bulgaria refused these accusations and assured that relations with Russia will not change official Sofiaâ€™s geopolitical direction towards the West.

But it seems this assuredness does not suffice everybody. Happenings in Bulgariaâ€™s Burgas city prove it. The residents of the city, which is the outfall of Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, the second giant energy project between Moscow and Sofia, held mass rally and protested against the project. "Our rulers sold Bulgaria", "Don’t turn Burgas into a second Chernobyl," read the posters of the protestors, who even staged an auction and sold parts of the pipeline. The agreement signed by Bulgaria, Russia and Greece with participation of Russian president envisages transportation of Russian oil to Aegean Sea bypassing Turkeyâ€™s Bosphorus and Dardanelles. Question arises how â€œBorjomi scenarioâ€ is realized around the project, which is considered as the alternative to Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. But the referendum in Burgas on February 17, which will decide the fate of the pipeline, shows seriousness of the situation. 51% of the city residents are to participate in the voting, so that the referendum can be considered valid. President Georgi Pyrvanov stated that local referendums will not influence the fate of the project.

On the other hand, Romanian President Traian Basescuâ€™s speech about Constanza-Trieste before foreign diplomats accredited in Bucharest shows that the happenings in Burgas are no of local character.
â€œNabucco pipeline is of strategic character for Romania and European Union. Direct, effective and safe delivery of the Caspian oil is possible through Constanza-Trieste pipeline,â€ he said.
President Basescu expressed his hope that European Union in its new policy on Central Asia will apply more suitable approach to this strategic region.
â€œRomania will try to achieve the goals of this policy through the relations with its strategic partners Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan,â€ he said. 1.400 kilometer- Constanza-Trieste pipeline or Pan-European Oil Pipeline which is a competitor of Burgas-Alexandroupolis and Bulgas-Vlore pipelines will link the Black and Adriatic Seas. Pan-European is a proposed oil pipeline from ConstanÅ£a in Romania via Serbia and Croatia to a point near Rijeka and from there through Slovenia to Trieste in Italy. It would carry around 60 million tonnes of oil per year. The feasibility study for the project has estimated that the pipeline will commence operations in 2012.
Viorel Palashka, Romanian deputy Minister of Economy stated in the middle of January that, the government supports the joining of â€œGaz de France â€œCompany and Kazakhstan to Constanza-Triesta pipeline project. This project was the focus of attention of Bucharest along January. This issue was debated during the visit of Romanian President Traian Basescu to Belgrade on January 29.Serbia is a key country for this project and Constanza-Triesta pipeline became insolvent because of Kosovo crisis in 1999.Official Bucharest assured Belgrade that its position will be close to Serbian positions.
â€œWe debated this project with Boris Tadic I am sure that, our political and economical partnership will successfully develop,â€ he said. Serbian President Boris Tadic noted that they are interested in the necessity of Constanza port and in the development of cooperation on implementation of above-said project.
Against the back drop of South stream gas pipeline Romanian-Serbian dialogue was drawn more attention last month. Most parts of the pipeline are already built except for a connection between the city of Pitesti, Romania and the city of Pancevo, Serbia, and a section between Croatia’s northern Adriatic region through Slovenia to Trieste. Compared to the Burgas-Alexandroupolis and AMBO pipelines, a pipeline which runs entirely across land and directly joins the central European pipeline network carries smaller risks associated with oil spills. There is a threat that the number of tankers passing through the Turkish straits will not fall significantly and that oil pipelines would increase the total amount of oil being transported rather than replacing tanker traffic. Bucharest and Sofia, candidates to EU competes for Pan-European pipeline and South stream gas pipeline and these countries depend on Serbia. Serbian President Boris Tadic stated that the country intends to make investment in oil infrastructure of Constanza port. It is interesting, is Gazprom which bought Serbian Oil Company last month behind the investments? /APA Analytics /