EU, Turkey to sign Gas pipeline deal

Several European Union countries and Turkey will sign on July 13 an inter-governmental agreement on a 3,300-kilometer-long gas pipeline that will allow to pump gas from the Caspian region to Austria bypassing Russia.

Authorities of the European Commission (EC) invited to the signing ceremony confirmed the deal will be subscribed by Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria. To date the contents of the agreement have not been revealed, according to a EU spokesman, but claimed it will be "based on the principles of mutual solidarity, mutual equality and interdependence.

It is still not known if the agreement will include a clause that allows Turkey to use 16 percent of the gas. The 4.6 million euros pipeline will be laid down starting next year. Gas pumping is scheduled to begin in 2013.