The declaration, made in a government decree, will simplify and accelerate preparations for the construction of the 229km stretch of the pipeline in Hungary, the department said. The declaration followed a meeting in Budapest on Wednesday between Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the top executives of Russian oil and gas giant Gazprom. The South Stream pipeline will run from Russia under the Black Sea to Bulgaria, bypassing Ukraine, whose rows with Moscow have interrupted gas deliveries to Europe several times in recent years.