Flinke deuk in ambitie EU om qua gastoevoer onafhankelijker van Rusland te worden (en)

BRUSSELS - EU plans to lower dependence on Russian gas in south-eastern member states have suffered a setback with the death of the "Nabucco" pipeline scheme.

Austrian firm OMV, part of the Nabucco consortium, said on Wednesday (26 June) that Azerbaijan, the gas supplier, has opted for the rival "Tap" pipeline instead.

"[Azerbaijan's] Shah Deniz II consortium informed OMV, as a shareholder of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International, about the decision on their preferred gas transportation route to Europe. The Nabucco West project was not selected by the consortium," it noted in a statement posted on its website.

The European Commission has declined to comment on the news pending an official announcement from Baku, due on Friday.

It said in the past it does not matter whether Nabucco West or Tap is built because both of them square with its "southern corridor" plan - the idea of pumping gas directly from the Caspian Sea to Europe, bypassing Russia.

Both pipelines were to bring some 10 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas a year from the Shah Deniz II field to EU countries in the next five or so years.

But there is a big difference.

Tap is to run from the Turkish border via Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea to Italy. Nabucco West was to have run from Turkey via Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary to Austria.

Greece depends on Russian gas for 58 percent of its consumption, while Italy's dependence is just 22 percent.

Neither country was badly hit in the 2009 Russia-Ukraine gas crisis.

But in Bulgaria, which depends on Russia for 100 percent of its gas, street lights went out in Sofia and electricity supplies to hospitals were put at risk. Dependency is also high in Hungary (56%) and Austria (52%).

Both Tap and Nabucco West are far less grand than the EU's original proposal, Nabucco Classic, which was to have shipped 31 bcm a year from Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan to Austria, but which fell by the wayside last year.

For his part, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said in Brussels last week that he has 2 trillion bcm of proven reserves, most of which is destined for Europe.

But there are signs the authoritarian leader is using his mineral riches to extract political concessions.

The commission in May submitted a draft "Strategic Modernisation Partnership" treaty to EU capitals, giving a privileged status to Azerbaijan compared to neighbouring post-Soviet states.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan is expected to delay its signature of Tap contracts until September or October, the same time as its presidential election.

The timing, say activists, such as Khadija Ismayilova, a Baku-based investigative journalist and free speech campaigner, is designed to deflect potential EU criticism on democratic standards.