Евгени Кирилов (ПЕС). – Mr President, last week I visited Azerbaijan with the EP delegation to observe the presidential elections, which were held mostly in line with democratic standards. We had a number of meetings with MPs and high-level officials, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs. As a result, I have to say that my initial fears that practically nothing has been done for the Nabucco project deepened. Azerbaijan is not even aware of the framework of this project.

The European Commission has so far done nothing apart from signing a general agreement of cooperation in the energy field. I think it is ridiculous to hear Commissioners speaking all the time in lofty words about how important this project is for the whole of Europe and at the same time leaving it to single EU countries to negotiate conditions. In my country, Bulgaria, we often say that there is no smoke without fire. Well, in this particular case there is too much smoke and no fire, and we all know we face very strong competition. If the Commission does not get active quickly enough, the whole project will end up in smoke.