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On 4 March the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and the Italian-Greek consortium IGI Poseidon signed an agreement that is to establish companies for the construction and management of the Bulgarian-Greek gas connector which enables supplies of gas from the Caspian Sea from the ITGI pipeline (Turkey-Greece-Italy). Sofia, regardless of the support that it gives to the Nabucco and South Stream gas pipelines, in parallel is intensifying actions to get involved in other projects that help to diversify the sources and routes of gas supplies. more »
An intergovernmental agreement on the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline in Croatian territory was signed on 2 March during the visit of Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor to Moscow. This agreement will bring a major change to Croatian energy policy which has so far been based on ensuring energy security with its own means and through co-operation with Hungary’s largest energy corporation MOL. more »
The common diversification policy is to be based on the Nabucco gas pipeline and the planned LNG terminals in Poland, Croatia and the Black Sea coast. The implementation of goals as part of this initiative will depend on the determination of the governments of the countries involved, while real threats to it may be posed by Russia’s attempts to scupper the project. more »
On 17 February, during the visit of Gazprom's vice president Alexander Medvedev to Romania, Gazprom officially invited Romania to participate in the South Stream gas pipeline project. Romania's participation in the project is however not very likely, although it cannot be ruled out. Bucharest is decidedly much more interested in implementing the EU Nabucco gas pipeline and tightening bilateral cooperation with Azerbaijan (supplies of LNG) as it is consistent with its plans to diversify gas supplies. more »
On 18 February, the EU Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) decided to unblock three chapters of key importance in the accession negotiations between Croatia and the EU. This decision increases Zagreb's chances of finalizing the accession negotiations within the scheduled time (by the end of 2010). more »
