Three members of Hungary's government confirmed on Friday Hungary's commitment to the European Union's common energy policy and the construction of the Nabucco gas pipeline in Budapest, according to MTI News Agency.

Ministers Kinga Goncz of foreign affairs, Csaba Kakosy of economy and Janos Veres of finance met reporters after informing the EU and NATO member states' ambassadors about Hungary's energy policy.

Both Kakosy and Goncz emphasized that Hungary would provide "active support" for Nabucco.

Goncz said the Foreign Ministry would set up a post of roving ambassador who will act as a liaison to the countries involved in Nabucco, and promote the implementation of the project.

According to the Economy Ministry, Csaba Kakosy met Thursday Jozias van Aartsen, the EU coordinator for the Nabucco pipeline project in Brussels and reassured him of Hungary's strong commitment to the project.

Kakosy stressed that the Hungarian-Russian agreement signed in Moscow Thursday on the South Stream project, an alternative pipeline which will bring Russian gas to Hungary through the Balkans, would in no way obstruct the implementation of the EU- backed Nabucco project, destined to supply gas from central Asia.

Kakosy said Hungary had already moved to foster international cooperation on the Nabucco pipeline, and added that Hungary had prepared a draft of an inter-government agreement on the project which it had distributed to the ambassadors of the other Nabucco countries. Hungary will do everything it can to push forward to the signing of the Nabucco agreement, which would significantly accelerate the project, Kakosy told Aartsen.

As part of the South Stream project, it is expected that an underground storage facility with a capacity to hold 1 billion cubic meters of gas will be built on Hungary's soil. The pipeline' s Hungarian extension will have a capacity of at least 10 billion cubic meters of gas.

The South Stream project, which is projected to cost 15 billion dollars, will consist of two branches diverging from Bulgaria: one to run south through Greece and Italy while the other is expected to run further north, including through Serbia and Hungary.

Copyright 2008 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY.

Related Project
Nabucco Gas Pipeline
Facility Type: Pipeline Owner: Nabucco Gas Pipeline International Gmbh
Scope: New Construction Location: Middle East and Central Asia to Europe Turkey