EU-Russia energy spat breaks out at Brussels meeting (Roundup)

Feb 24, 2011, 15:13 GMT

Brussels - A row between Russia and the European Union over EU energy legislation broke out in public on Thursday after the Russian government travelled to Brussels for talks with the EU executive.

In 2009, the EU adopted major energy reforms aimed at boosting competition and efficiency by, among other methods, forcing firms which sell energy to loosen their grip on pipelines and power grids. Russia sees that as an attack on its major players, such as Gazprom.

The legislation 'contradicts the existing cooperation agreement' between the EU and Russia and amounts to 'property confiscation,' Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in a press conference after a meeting with the European Commission.

Putin earned the nickname of 'Gas-Putin' during his tenure as president from 2000 to 2008, being accused by Western analysts of using Russia's gas supplies to exert pressure on its neighbours, especially the pro-NATO regime in Ukraine.

His host, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, hit back strongly. The commission has led a push to diversify Europe's sources of energy, something which would reduce Russia's influence.

'We believe the Third Energy (legislative) Package is non- discriminatory, and what we ask foreign companies is to accept the same rules we implement with our own companies,' he insisted.

In December, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hinted at Russia's anger after a summit with the EU, but did not mention details.

But Thursday's press conference took on the appearance of a public debate as each man in turn took the floor to respond to the other's comments, with Barroso describing Putin's interventions as 'energetic.'

However, both leaders stressed that their differences could be solved by negotiation, with Putin saying that Russia 'will try and prove the advantage of our approach,' while Barroso said that the EU understood Russia's concerns and would try to answer them.

Their public debate came after a morning of closed-door meetings between over a dozen Russian government ministers and two dozen members of the commission on sweeping aspects of economic and political relations.

The two sides are currently negotiating a wide-ranging cooperation agreement and a deal to help modernize the Russian economy, and are in talks on the possibility of offering Russian citizens visa-free travel to Europe, something Moscow wants keenly.

Both leaders said that their meeting had been 'fruitful' and 'productive', and praised one another for their 'open' attitude.

However, there was little sign of a breakthrough on any of their major differences.

Barroso, for example, said that the EU would 'like to see this (cooperation) agreement have substantial trade and investment provisions, including on energy.'

But Putin said that Russia 'believes that it should be a framework agreement, and that the principles of cooperation in different sectors should be fixed in separate relevant agreements.'

Similarly, the EU has repeatedly called for democratic change in the crisis-torn countries of North Africa, saying that democracy would be the best guarantee of future stability.

But Putin warned that democracy was not necessarily the solution, citing the election victory of militant organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip as an example of the danger of such reforms.

'We cannot duplicate the same situations in different parts of the world or use the same patterns: we should respect different processes in different places,' he said.

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