A €10bn-plus pipeline to bring Russian gas to Europe has been proposed by Gazprom, the state-controlled gas company, and Eni, the Italian energy group, in a move that will reignite concerns about the European Union’s dependence on Russian supplies.

With the backing of the Russian and Italian governments, Gazprom and Eni, which struck a strategic partnership in November, signed a memorandum of understanding at the weekend to begin a feasibility study for the pipeline.