On the sidelines of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit to Brussels yesterday (24 February), Moscow won the European Union's blessing to hold a promotional Brussels event to showcase the South Stream gas pipeline, which is largely seen as a competitor to the EU-favoured Nabucco pipeline.
Speaking to EurActiv on the sidelines of Putin's visit, Russian Energy Minister Sergey Shmatko said he had agreed with the EU's energy commisioner, Germany'sGünther Oettinger, that a presentation of the South Steam pipeline project would be held in Brussels next April.
Shmatko added that the promotional event would be hosted by the European Commission and attended by a wide range of personalities, including the ambassadors of the participating countries and representatives of the participating companies, as well as representatives of firms interested in taking part. "I think this will be a very interesting event," he told EurActiv.
Commissioner Oettinger's spokesperson Marlene Holzner confirmed the agreement, adding that it had not been a commitment that the Commission would host the event, but only that Oettinger would attend it.
Shmatko lamented the fact that South Stream did not yet enjoy the same status as Nord Stream, the other big pipeline of Russian energy giant Gazprom, which is already under construction and is designed to bring Russian gas offshore to Germany.
The pan-European nature of Nord Stream is underscored by its status as a project under the EU's Trans-European Networks energy guidelines. That status was confirmed in 2006.
Speaking to the Brussels press, Putin said that with both Nord Stream and South Stream operational, the risk of energy disruption in Europe would be greatly reduced.
Commenting on the Libya crisis and soaring oil prices, which he said experts believe will hit 220 dollars a barrel, Putin denied that his country,the world's second-largest exporter of oil, was pleased with the developments.
Putin said that Russia's industries, particularly those that rely heavily on exports like the chemical sector, would have to reduce production in such circumstances."Everything is interrelated. We hope this will not happen," he said.