Budapest - The heads of the EU's European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Tuesday that their institutions are prepared to provide financial backing for the Nabucco gas pipeline project, providing certain conditions are met.

"The EIB is ready to finance projects that further EU objectives of increased sustainability and energy security," said the president of the European Investment Bank Philippe Maystadt during the opening addresses by participants in a "Nabucco summit" in Hungary on Tuesday.

The EIB is prepared to finance "up to 25 per cent of project cost," provided a secure intergovernmental agreement on the Nabucco pipeline is reached, he said. Maystadt noted that of 48 billion euros of financing it provided last year, a quarter was for energy projects.

EBRD President Thomas Mirow also offered financial backing to the Nabucco pipeline, on the condition that it "meets the requirements of solid project financing." The bank would need to see concrete plans and completion guarantees, besides a stable political agreement, said Mirow.

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU, spoke about the recent gas crisis caused by a pricing dispute between Russia and Ukraine.

"A new crisis could emerge at any time, and next time it could be even worse," Topolanek said. He added that reaching an agreement on Nabucco is a "test of European solidarity."

The EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs urged political leaders to commit firmly to Nabucco by the end of March, or risk jeopardizing the project.

In his opening address as host, Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany called on the EU to provide 200 to 300 million euros within the next few weeks to get the construction of the pipeline off the ground. Gyurcsany stressed that he was not hoping for a loan, but rather for starting capital from the EU.

The US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza noted that the Tuesday summit had made it clear that Gyurcsany, who dismissed Nabucco as "a dream" in 2007, was now fully committed to the key energy supply diversification project.

The Nabucco pipeline, which would run through Turkey to the EU, is backed by the EU and the US as a way of reducing Europe's dependence on Russia for its supplies of natural gas.

This energy dependence was made abundantly clear this month when supplies of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine were stopped amid a row over pricing.

Opening addresses were also given by representatives of potential suppliers of gas from Central Asia and the Middle East. On Tuesday afternoon, the participants in the Nabucco summit began their negotiations proper at the nearby Hungarian Academy of Sciences. (dpa)