Turkije bedrijft politiek met Nabucco-pijpleiding (en)

EUOBSERVER / PRAGUE - The EU risks continued energy dependency on Russia and a sharp rise in natural gas prices unless it unblocks EU accession talks with Turkey, Ankara indicated on Friday (8 May).

At an energy summit in Prague, Turkish President Abdullah Gul i signed a declaration promising to close an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) in June on building the Nabucco gas pipeline through his country.

But he linked the IGA deal to the EU's opening the energy chapter of Turkey's accession negotiations, blocked by Cyprus due to a long-standing territorial dispute.

"In order to be more successful, it is of great importance that co-operation and solidarity exist on both sides," Mr Gul said. "We believe the opening of the negotiations on the energy chapter will accordingly provide great benefits."

The Nabucco pipeline, which cannot go ahead without the IGA, is a project to pump by 2020 25 billion cubic metres (bcm) a year of Caspian Sea basin gas directly to the EU, bypassing Russia.

The pipeline would reduce the impact on the EU of any future Russian gas cut-offs and complicate Russian plans to put gas prices on a higher footing for the long-term.

European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso i in Prague on Thursday downplayed Turkey's Nabucco-accession link. "He [Mr Gul] did not make any kind of conditionality," the commission president said.

The commission's ambassador to Turkey, Marc Pierini, speaking to press in Ankara the same day, was less diplomatic, however.

"Turkey is not formally linking Nabucco to Cyprus blocking the energy chapter in the Council [the EU member states' secretariat], but it is part of their understanding of the issue," he said. "It is a political play within the Council."

Ankara's negotiating position is weakened by the fact it needs extra Caspian gas as much as the EU, the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) told EUobserver.

"It's own gas use is growing. It consumed 16 bcm in 2002 and 37 bcm in 2008," the IEA's Ian Cronshaw said. "Sixty three percent of its gas comes from Russia and they got cut off in the Ukrainian crisis as well," he added, referring to January's Russia-Ukraine gas crunch.

Turkmenistan disappoints

In a second niggle at the Prague summit, world number four gas owner Turkmenistan did not sign the EU declaration pledging future gas volumes for Nabucco.

Turkmenistan sent its number two official, Tachberdy Tagiev, to Prague, and two days before the summit released a political prisoner, Mukhametkuli Aymuradov, auguring well for EU relations. But it did not put pen to paper on the day.

"Azerbaijan [which did sign] is a European country which has European aspirations. Turkmenistan is a Central Asian country that doesn't have such aspirations, so that's where I would look for the reason," Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek i said.

The political question marks hanging over Nabucco and other pipelines in the "Southern Corridor" region are preventing EU energy companies, such as Germany's RWE, from moving ahead with contracts.

"What is very helpful is a unified political signal supporting the idea of a Southern Corridor in general," RWE spokesman Michael Rosen told this website.