Vice-President of the European Commission (EC) Loyola de Palacio has welcomed the conclusion of negotiations in late December 2003 between Greece's Development Minister and Turkey's Energy Minister on the construction of an interconnection between their countries' gas networks to carry natural gas supplies from the Caspian Basin to Turkey, Greece and, at a later stage, the Balkans.
Acting as facilitator in this process, the EC had, in 1999, helped set up the first economic cooperation agreement between Greece and Turkey, focusing particularly on interconnecting their national gas networks. In 2000, these intergovernmental agreements made it possible to institute commercial negotiations between the gas companies of the two countries. This was the basis for the Commission to grant five million euros in funding under the trans-European energy network program towards technical and commercial studies for the construction project.
The agreement was finalized in December 2003 following a meeting in Athens between Vice-President Loyola de Palacio and the Greek and Turkish ministers, and after a series of contacts between Vice-President Loyola de Palacio and the authorities of the producer countries, leading to confirmation that the work on the construction project should begin as early as 2004. — (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
