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Corlatean: It's important EU communicates interest in Iraq's possible Nabucco participation
Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Titus Corlatean on Monday asked the European Union top diplomat Catherine Ashton to underscore, in the talks with the Iraqi authorities, the European bloc's interest in Iraq's taking part in the international energy security projects, since there is openness in Baghdad for supplying natural gas for Nabucco pipeline project.
Corlatean said that the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels had talks on Iraq on its agenda and he, in addressing the meeting, underscored both the fact that the experience of the Central and Eastern European societies can be used in building democracy in Iraq and Baghdad's interest in forging cooperation on energy issues with the 27 bloc.
'I underscored that, on the basis of the findings of Romania and mine personally in Iraq - because I visited Iraq twice over the last year - they (the Iraqi authorities - editor's note) were always interested in the European experience of the Central and Eastern European states in the process of the democratic transition, in the process of the transition from dictatorship, from authoritarian rules to democratic rules. They are highly interested in the European expertise on democratic laws and constitutional reform. And I suggested Ms Catherine Ashton (the EU High Representative for foreign affairs and security policy - editor's note) to capitalise on such expertise that we have in Europe, particularly in the Central and Eastern European states, Romania included, in building the democratic, legislative, institutional foundation in which the Iraqis are highly interested', he said.
The foreign minister also made the request that 'in the talks with the Iraqi authorities there should be underscored the EU interest in Iraq's contribution to the international energy security projects'.
'I very clearly mentioned that there is openness in Baghdad, once the famous topic of the gas and oil law in Iraq, namely the discussions between the central government and the one in the Iraqi Kurdistan will have been completed, that there can be a contribution of Iraq to supplying gas via Turkey as part of Nabucco project. There is such openness, I can confirm this, based on the discussions I previously had in Baghdad and there could be an important contribution. The important thing would be that a message be communicated from the EU on the whole and I want to recall here that there is a memorandum of understanding previously signed between the EU and Iraq for the cooperation on energy, the export of oil and gas', the Romanian minister said.