‘Moment of truth’ on gas pipeline

Europe’s commitment to a strategic gas pipeline that would bypass Russia was hanging in the balance on Thursday night as member states made a final push to agree a €5bn energy infrastructure proposal that has proved unusually divisive.

The torturous negotiations over a relatively small set of projects intended to improve energy security and stimulate the economy have become a test of the European Union’s credibility and its ability to respond to larger challenges, according to several diplomats.

“This is the moment of truth,” one diplomat said on Thursday on the sidelines of the EU summit in Brussels.

At the centre of the dispute is the Nabucco pipeline, which would carry gas from the Caspian region to Austria via Turkey.

The European Commission promoted the 3,300km project in January – in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine stand-off that cut gas supplies – as it urged member states to commit €5bn ($6.9bn, £4.7bn) in unspent funds to a series of projects to improve energy security.

Germany, the biggest contributor to the EU budget, has repeatedly expressed reservations about the plan, which also includes funding for gas and electricity interconnections, offshore wind and carbon capture and storage pilot plants.

Its opposition in recent days has centred on Nabucco, which German government officials say would provide no stimulus to the economy because work would not begin for years. The focus on Nabucco was particularly sensitive since Germany has championed a competing pipeline project, Nordstream, which would bring Russian gas to the country through the Baltic Sea.

Poland, a staunch opponent of Nordstream – and ever wary of Russia’s influence – argued on Thursday that Nabucco had to remain in the plan if the EU were to make good on its promise to improve its energy security.

“It’s the best way for diversification and, consequently, for the energy security of Europe,” said Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, of Nabucco.

Other diplomats predicted that removing Nabucco from the list of projects so late in the negotiations could cause the entire plan to unravel, leading to embarrassment for all concerned.

The wrangling over the €5bn plan overshadowed EU efforts to agree on financial commitments ahead of a December meeting in Copenhagen to negotiate a global agreement on climate change.

The United Nations warned this week that those talks could be imperilled if the EU did not table a proposal for financial commitments it would make to developing countries to help them fight climate change.

Yet member states are expected to omit those commitments in the summit’s final communiqué, with several arguing there was no leverage to be gained by making the first offer.