EC President Barroso calls dispute, “most unacceptable and incredible”

Despite the signing of an agreement on Jan. 12, gas is still not flowing from Russia to the EU via the Ukraine. The Ukrainians claims that for technical reasons it cannot pass the amount of gas Russia wishes to send via the route stipulated. Gazprom, the Russian state owned gas export monopoly, disputes this.

On Jan. 14, the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso told the European Parliament, that if the agreement sponsored by the European Union is not honoured, it means that “Russia and Ukraine can no longer be regarded as reliable.”

More Diplomacy
The Prime Ministers of three of the hardest hit countries, Slovak Robert Fico, Bulgarian Sergei Stanishev and Moldovan Zinaida Greceanii travelled to Russia and the Ukraine to meet with their counterparts on Jan 14.

In the Ukrainian capital Kiev, Fico told Ukrainian Prime Ministers Yulia Tymoshenko, “We are not interested in your bilateral relations with Russia; we are interested in the transit of Russian gas through your territory.” Slovakia only has 11 days of reserves left. Fico added, “We ask you to start bilateral talks between the Russian and Ukrainian prime ministers.”

In Moscow Russian Prime Ministers Vladimir Putin told his visitors, “In my view, European officials could do more to put pressure on the transit country to ensure European interests.”

After returning from a Moscow Fico told a news conference, “The course of the talks allows us to state that we cannot expect early resumption of gas supplies to Slovakia.”

Russia has called for a gas users’ summit in Moscow on Jan 17 inviting the EU, customer and transit states. The Ukraine agrees to the summit but opposes the venue.

Return to Nuclear Power
Bulgaria and Slovakia have been hardest hit of the EU countries due to lack of connecting pipelines with neighbouring EU states.

Both have stated that they are likely to re-open mothballed Soviet-era nuclear power stations to make up for lost gas. Both were closed as part of the countries accession to the EU.

Although the Bulgarian 2006 accession treaty allows it to restart the power plant, “under exceptional circumstances, a similar clause in the Slovakian 2004 accession treaty has lapsed.

Possible Responses
The long term response by the EU will be to find more reliable supplies of energy. In the short term there is not much it can do. Mediation only works if both sides are interested in finding a solution. That is clearly not the case in the present dispute.

One possible solution put forward is for the EU to pay the Ukraine’s gas bill. Something that the EU is not keen on, not least of all because the murky deals that surrounds the trading of gas between Russia and the Ukraine.

Barroso favours legal action. He told the European Parliament the dispute was, “most unacceptable and incredible”. Saying he would advise EU energy companies to sue Gazprom and Naftogaz unless they restore supplies, “as a matter of urgency.”

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