BRUSSELS, March 20 (UPI) -- European leaders are set to approve a $6.8 billion investment plan for energy and infrastructure projects, including the Nabucco gas pipeline, documents show.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told reporters in Brussels the bloc was set to adopt the list of projects Friday.
Documents obtained by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said that list includes a $272 million investment for the Nabucco pipeline.
Europe put the diversification of the regional oil and gas transit network at the top of a sweeping energy plan in 2008.
The diversification plans received renewed attention following a January dispute between Moscow and Kiev over gas debts and contracts. About 80 percent of all Russian gas bound for Europe travels through Ukraine, and the January row left Europe starved for gas for weeks because of supply disruptions.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel had voiced her opposition to using public funding for some future projects, putting Nabucco in jeopardy as construction is set to begin 2010.
Romanian officials, however, said they would block the investment plan if it did not include a specific reference to Nabucco. Romania would host a portion of the pipeline.
Barroso, the European Commission president, said a compromise on the spending plan was reached in order to spend the money in 2009 and 2010.
