The European Union and Azerbaijan signed a deal Thursday in which the Caspian country commits to supply Europe with «substantial volumes of gas,» an agreement the EU said was an important step to reduce the bloc's dependence on deliveries from Russia. However, Baku has not yet decided whether the EU-backed Nabucco pipeline project will get the award from the big Shah Deniz II gas field, or whether the contract will go to smaller rival projects, AP reported. Moscow's disputes with Ukraine and Belarus have in the past cut off supplies to Central and Western Europe, making European policymakers keen to develop alternative routes to get their gas. Currently, the EU gets about 40 percent of its natural gas from Russia. «This is a major breakthrough,» European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who signed the agreement with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev in Baku, said in a statement. «This new supply route will enhance the energy security of European consumers and businesses.» In the agreement, Azerbaijan promises the EU to provide sufficient gas to enable the creation of the so-called Southern corridor _ a route from the energy-rich Caspian basin to Europe that bypasses Russia. The infrastructure will be provided together by Europe and Azerbaijan, the EU said in a statement. Currently, several pipeline projects are competing to create the Southern corridor. The EU has thrown its weight behind Nabucco, a massive 3,300 kilometer pipeline proposed by a consortium of firms led by Germany's RWE AG that could move up to 31 billion cubic meters of gas a year from Baku all the way to Austria. But in recent months, the 27-country bloc appears to have softened its position on what pipeline to support. -- SPA
