The prime ministers of four EU countries and Turkey have signed a deal to build a major gas pipeline to reduce European reliance on Russian supplies.
Prime ministers Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Sergey Stanishev of Bulgaria, Emil Boc of Romania, Gordon Bajnai of Hungary and Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann signed the intergovernmental deal - a step in the delayed Nabucco pipeline project
There is still uncertainty over who will supply the gas.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso also took part in the signing ceremony.
Mr Erdogan said the legal framework for the construction of the pipeline would be completed once the Nabucco consortium signs separate agreements with all five participant countries within a targeted period of six months.
‘The more steps we take (on realising the project), the more the interest of supplier countries will grow,’ he said.
Azerbaijan is seen as the primary potential provider of gas for the conduit, with Turkmenistan, Iraq and Egypt also mentioned for the long term.
It is planned that the 3,300km pipeline will be operation in 2014 and will cost an estimated €7.9bn.
