EU anxious to shake off energy dependence on Russia

09-03-07

An EU summit which opened in Brussels will focus on energy security issues in countries neighbouring Russia.
EU members Lithuania and Poland have requested help from European officials while non-EU-member Ukraine hopes for broader cooperation. Vilnius is anxious to resume works on building a branch of the Druzhba pipeline going to the country. Warsaw, meanwhile, wants the EU to finance the construction of the Nabucco pipeline as Kyiv pushes for financing of the Odessa-Brody-Plock route.

A spring summit of the European Union opened in Brussels with energy policy issues at the top of the agenda.
Lithuania is asking the EU to resume the construction of a branch of the Druzhba pipeline which runs from Russia to the Mazeikiu refinery. Lithuanian authorities and EU official agreed to make the issue a priority at a Russia-EU summit in Samara in May. EU President Jose Manuel Barroso supported the two countries saying in a letter to Lithuanian and Polish prime ministers that solidarity is a key element in any EU policies.

Poland would like to see the EU financing the construction of the Nabucco pipeline which will ship Central Asian oil and gas to Europe bypassing Russia. Warsaw is set to secure gas supply guarantees for the pipeline from Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, an EU official said quoted as saying.
Another Russian neighbour, Ukraine, is going to further energy cooperation with the European Union.

Ukraine’s President Viktor Yushchenko said after meeting EU foreign policy chief Benita Ferrero-Waldner that a partnership agreement between his country and the EU will include an article on energy partnership, which means possible financing of the construction of the Odessa-Brody-Plock pipeline.
Ms Ferrero-Waldner, however, would not give any exact guarantees of investments to Ukraine or any other neighbour of Russia.
 

Source: www.kommersant.com