European Union governments agreed on the allocation of EUR5 billion to develop the bloc's energy and broadband networks, ending weeks of squabbling over the list of projects to be financed, a document seen by Dow Jones Newswires showed Friday.
The document is a draft of the conclusions of a summit of government leaders in Brussels which is to end shortly.
The 27 heads of state and government agreed to commit EUR3.98 billion for energy projects, including gas and electricity grids, wind and carbon capture and storage projects. Another EUR1.0 billion was committed to boost broadband connections in rural areas and financing agriculture. The European Parliament will have to approve Friday's agreement, before the plan can be implemented.
The money should be given to projects starting between this year and 2010, as it is conceived as a short-term stimulus to the European economies. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso strongly wanted this commitment in an effort to show the E.U. is reacting to the current slowdown.
According to the document, the 3,300 kilometer Nabucco pipeline, which would bring Central Asian gas to Europe, would get EUR200 million. ITGI, a pipeline bringing gas from Azerbaijan to Greece and Italy via Turkey, would get EUR100, the document showed.
The commission is keen to boost the gas network both within the E.U. and externally, as it seeks to increase the bloc's energy security by enhancing interconnections among countries and reducing dependence on Russia.
The 27 government leaders decided to spend a total of EUR565 million to finance wind turbines to produce electricity offshore. Another EUR1.05 billion would go to carbon capture and storage projects, which use a new technology to catch the carbon dioxide emitted and store it underground.
European governments have fought over the list of projects to include in the financing scheme for weeks, as each country wanted more money for its own networks.