William Penn Life, 2009 (44. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

2009-02-01 / 2. szám

Magyar Matters Hungary pushing for EU support of vital pipeline project BUDAPEST - Europe must give solid support for the ambitious Nabucco gas pipeline project, Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany said recently follow­ing a crisis over Russian gas imports in January. Speaking ahead of a conference on Nabucco in the Hungarian capital Jan. 26 and 27, Gyurcsany told the MTI news agency that one of the meeting's main goals was to secure financial and political backing from the Euro­pean Union. "This project is not purely about business but also about Europe's energy security. It is therefore vital to make sure we have resources that are backed and guaranteed by the EU," he added. Nabucco is a 2,100-mile pipe­line between Turkey and Austria aimed at transporting up to one trillion cubic feet of gas each year BUDAPEST — Hungarian Airline Malév has found an apparent savior in Russia's state-owned bank, Vneshekonombank (VEB). Hungary's Finance Minister János Veres confirmed the VEB take­over in late January. The announcement followed rampant speculation about VEB taking the reigns of the finan­cially-troubled airline, specula­tion fueled by Malév's decision Jan. 16 to recall Chairman Boris Abramovich and board of direc­tors member Alexandr Abramovich. VEB is buying into Malév's from the Caspian Sea to western Europe, bypassing Russia and Ukraine. The project is seen as all the more vital for ensuring Europe's independence from Russian gas after most of the continent found supplies cut off in January during a pricing dispute between Mos­cow and Kiev. Nabucco has been slow to get off the ground because key issues, such as financing and where the gas would actually come from, have yet to be agreed. The consortium planning the pipeline recently raised the cost estimate to around $10.7 billion from an initial projection of $5.8 billion. For Nabucco to be profitable, Europe would have to find a trillion cubic feet of gas each year from countries such as Azer­baijan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Iraq. current owners, AirBridge Zrt., which had been held by Boris Abramovich and two Hungarian investors, Magdolna Költő and Kálmán Kiss. Veres said the new ownership would endanger neither Malév's Hungarian characteristics and nor its rights to fly routes in the European Union. Russian airline Aeroflot may run the Hungarian airline. Fiancial experts say VEB may have to pump tens of billions of forints into Malév to help it stay afloat and pay off its debts, reported to total 20 billion forints. 1 In Brief 1 McKeesport club to host dinner-dance on Valentine's Day McKeesport, pa - The McKeesport Hungarian Social Club will host a Valentine’s Day Venison and Beef Dinner-Dance on Saturday, Feb. 14. Dinner will be served at 5:00 p.m. with Hungarian music and dancing to follow at 7:00 p.m. Everone is welcome. Tickets are $ 15 per person. For more information and to make reservations, please call 724-854-0042. We ore constantly looking for news and information about Hungary and the Hungarian American community which we can share with our members and readers of the William Penn Life. If you have informa­tion about a person, place or event that you think would be of interest to those interested in things Hungarian, then please send your information to: John E. Lovász William Penn Association 709 Brighton Road Pittsburgh, PA 15233 Or, send an email to: j lovász @williampennassociation.org Next Deadline February 13 Russian bank steps in to save financially troubled Malév Airlines William Penn Life, February 2009 13

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