"NABUCCO IS NOT ONLY A PIPELINE PROJECT BUT ALSO A GREAT STABILITY AND PEACE PROJECT"

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis stated that Nabucco was not only a pipeline project but also a great stability and peace project.

In the written statement he made Bagis indicated that Nabucco project also stood in a strategic position for the European Union and reminded that Austria which was one of the oldest members of the Union was foreseen to be the end point of the project and transition points consisted of relatively new members of the Union.

Using the expression "Then across Turkey, which is continuing the accession negotiations with the European Union, one reaches to the heart of the project in other words, Central Asian countries with which the EU wants to develop ‘the Eastern Partnership' initiative", Bagis noted that the project brought together the past, today and possibly the future of the EU.

Reminding that the seeds of the EU grew out of coal and steel which were strategic raw materials in the aftermath of the World War II, Egemen Bagis said "These two strategic raw materials have united European countries. Today, our country is strengthening the Union through resolving its biggest problem, the energy crisis, with another strategic product which is natural gas."

Bagis stated that Nabucco proved the rightfulness of the expression frequently used by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan "Turkey will join the EU not to be a burden on it but to relieve it of its burden" and noted that without being a member Turkey had started to resolve Europe's problems.

Resource: AA