Maroš Šefčovič: TAP has a strong political support, which was lacking in Nabucco and ITGI

Baku. 4 July. REPORT.AZ/ The Southern Gas Corridor is a strategic initiative to bring the Caspian gas resources to the European markets.

Report informs citing the Greek media, European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič said.

He noted that the EU will accelerate efforts to open the South Eastern European markets also to the Southern Gas Corridor: 'These efforts are directly linked to the Energy Union framework, as one of its crucial objectives is that each Member State in the region, including Greece, would have access to at least three different sources of gas. The approval of the TAP agreement and the subsequent ground-breaking ceremony are an important step towards completing the Southern Gas Corridor'.

He said that they closely monitor the progress of this project in the three countries involved (Greece, Albania and Italy).

'The recent second Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council ministerial meeting confirmed the determination of all participating countries and consortia to complete this key infrastructure project in time. Progress has been achieved on all the projects along the Southern Gas Corridor (Shah Deniz II field development, the South Caucasus Pipeline, Trans-Anatolian pipeline and the Trans-Adriatic pipeline) and it is expected that gas will flow by 2019 to Turkey and by 2020 to the EU', M.Šefčovič added.

Speaking about the importance of the TAP, he said that Trans-Adriatic Pipeline is an important project for the European Union. According to him, the project has a strong political support, as well as backing from investors, which was lacking with regards to Nabucco and ITGI. The Commission remains committed to the close cooperation with the stakeholders and to support the timely implementation of this important project.