Parliament passed a bill approving the Nabucco project and the establishment of a national Nabucco company dealing with issues regarding the new pipeline. The bill, titled “The Acceptance Agreement Regarding the Nabucco Project between Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Turkey,” was passed after debate on the floor of Parliament.
The bill will allow the pipeline to be constructed on Turkish soil to transport natural gas coming into the country from the south and east and into Europe. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız thanked Parliament after the bill was passed and responded to criticism questioning whether such a pipeline would benefit Turkey financially. He stated that although an “entrance fee” for natural gas coming into Turkey would not be charged, a transportation fee would be levied.
He also added that the fact a major part of the pipeline would run through Turkey would be advantageous. “We will have the right to charge a different tax rate for natural gas going through Turkey. The agreement between the nations is for a tax rate of 16.6 percent that will be divided equally among them, but we also have a separate 61 percent tax rate that we’ll charge.
BOTAŞ [the state-owned Turkish Pipeline Corporation] will also charge an operating fee. With six partners, we’ve acted to give Turkey as great an advantage as possible,” said Yılmaz.
