EU countries want to become more independent from Russia. EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs attended the signing ceremony in the Croatian capital of Zagreb. The declaration was signed by Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Italy. The 1319-km long pipeline is to transfer 60–90 million tons of crude oil, including oil from Russia and other countries bordering the Caspian Sea, from the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta, via Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia to the Italian northern Adriatic port of Trieste.

The European gas pipeline is expected to make EU countries more independent from Russia, which is currently Europe’s main energy supplier. “Russia currently is our most important supplier of crude oil, and will be also in the future. However, diversification is a must,” said Piebalgs at the signing ceremony.

The construction of the €2-billion pipeline will begin between 2011 and 2013 and is expected to be finished by 2020, reported the news agency Reuters.