Nabucco pipeline became the center of EU summit dispute in Brussels.
Europe’s commitment to a strategic gas pipeline that would bypass Russia was hanging in the balance last night as member states made a final push to agree a Euro 5 billion energy infrastructure proposal that has proved unusually divisive.
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 centered on Nabucco, which German government officials say would provide no stimulus to the economy because work would not begin for years.
Concluding a two-day summit in Brussels, EU leaders also sought to strengthen market confidence in central and eastern European economies by doubling the size of a EU balance of payments facility fund for non-eurozone countries to Euro 50 billion, The Financial Times reported.
