EU, Turkey say agree Nabucco pipeline needed

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday the EU and Turkey agreed on the need for the Nabucco pipeline that would bring gas to the EU via Turkey.

"We agreed for the need for this pipleline," Barroso said after talks with Erdogan, who earlier on Monday threatened to review support for the project over EU member Cyprus's veto of the energy portion of Turkey's EU accession talks.

Erdogan said at a news conference with Barroso, regarding the Nabucco project: "We give full support all the time."

The Nabucco project is one day hoped to carry 30 billion cubic metres (bcm) of Caspian or Middle Eastern gas annually to an Austrian hub via Turkey.