Bulgaria, Romania and Greece have committed to develop a vertical gas corridor,
connecting the three countries, the Greek environment ministry
said.
Following the signing on Tuesday of a joint statement for the
implementation of the project, experts from the three countries will start
discussions immediately on the regulatory and technical aspects regarding the
realization of the so called Southern Corridor, the ministry said in a
statement.
The three counties stressed that their cooperation is open to
other member states of the European Union and the Energy Community with a view
to strengthening the Southern Corridor and enabling the cross-regional flow of
gas.
The project will aim to ensure "uninterrupted bidirectional
supplies, while promoting the EU’s priority corridor North South and Southern
Corridor, through the swift realization of the projects of common interest and
by overcoming the missing links necessary for the completion of an
interconnected internal market with the financial support of European
institutions,“ the statement said.
Securing alternative gas routes has
come into sharper focus for the countries in Southeast Europe after Russia
announced last week it had abandoned plans to build the South Stream gas
pipeline.
The South Stream, spearheaded by Gazprom, was planned to carry
gas from Russia to central and southern Europe via Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and
Slovenia.
Bulgaria imports almost all the natural gas it needs from
Russia through a pipeline crossing the territories of Ukraine, Moldova and
Romania.