MOSCOW, March 30 (RIA Novosti) - Russian political analysts Thursday welcomed the election of Gerhard Schroeder as head of the shareholders board for a multi-billion dollar natural-gas project.
President of the Politics Foundation Vyacheslav Nikonov said the former German chancellor was "a man who could ensure good political cover for the [North European Gas Pipeline] project."
Schroeder was elected Thursday as chairman of the shareholders' committee for the North European Gas Pipeline, which will see Russian natural gas pumped to Germany across the floor of the Baltic Sea.
Stanislav Belkovsky, head of the National Strategy Institute, said Eastern European countries interested in preserving their exclusive status as transit routes for Russian natural gas to Western Europe would oppose the new project.
"Therefore, a political heavyweight with a serious position on the European scene is needed to combat this serious lobbyist pressure," he said. "Schroeder has confidential relations with the Russian authorities, and this will allow him to accomplish tasks effectively."
Russian gas currently reaches Western Europe by pipelines through Ukraine and Belarus, and anxiety was raised across the continent following January's spat between Russia and Ukraine that saw supplies to the former Soviet republic cut off. Russia says the NEGP will guarantee reliable supplies to European consumers, and reduce dependency on transit countries.
Konstantin Simonov, general director of the Political Environment Center, said it was the first time such an important political figure had been involved in the top management of a Russian company, and that Schroeder would help promote such an important project.
"It means that we are really capable of involving top politicians in achieving our goals," he said.
Despite sharp criticism of Russia's energy policy, he said the launch of the North European Gas Pipeline proved that "there are reasonable people in Europe interested in [supplies] of Russian [natural] gas to their markets."
The NEGP will run from the Baltic coast near Vyborg, on the Russian-Finnish border, to the Greifswald region in north Germany, and will comprise two parallel sections of 750 miles each, at a cost of 4.7 billion euros. Project manager Gazprom holds a 51% stake, with Germany's BASF and E.ON holding 24.5% each.
