SOFIA, Bulgaria, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- A heated debate over energy policy resulted in Bulgarian lawmakers Wednesday ratifying an agreement on the Nabucco natural gas pipeline for Europe.
Ankara hosted the signing of a milestone intergovernmental agreement by representatives of Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Turkey on the construction of the Nabucco natural gas pipeline in July.
After nearly two hours of parliamentary debate Wednesday, Bulgarian lawmakers agreed to the construction of the gas pipeline for Europe.
Traicho Traikov, the Bulgarian economic and energy minister, said the first stage of Nabucco will be finished by the end of 2015 with 2020 marking the date for functionality, the official Sofia News Agency reports.
Lawmakers were generally supportive of the project, but debates focused on which party had the most influence over Sofia's stance on the pipeline.
Europe aims to break Russia's grip on the regional energy sector with its Nabucco pipeline, though non-Russian suppliers are slow to commit to the project.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov met his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Monday to advance a leadership position for the Nabucco pipeline.
Borisov noted that he spoke with the head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to make sure the money was there to build the pipeline.
