Plans for a 3,300-km pipeline to transport gas from the Caspian region to Europe on Monday secured political backing from the European Commission in a move which could bring the $5.8bn project closer to fruition.

Andris Piebalgs, the European Union energy commissioner, together with ministers from the five countries that will be linked by the pipeline – Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria – signed a statement pledging to work to “successfully complete” the project. Mr Piebalgs said: “The EU will continue to support this project, not only politically, but also [with finance] for feasibility studies.”