Thursday April 30, 06:57 PM
EU rejects Russia proposal to replace Energy Charter: official
By Nick Coleman
MOSCOW (AFP) - The European Union is not prepared to replace its Energy Charter with an alternative set of principles for governing energy relations proposed recently by Russia, a top EU official said here Thursday.
Asked if the EU was ready to replace the charter with a Russian plan announced by President Dmitry Medvedev earlier this month in Helsinki, EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs responded: "No.
"The Energy Charter treaty will continue to live its life until the countries that established it decide differently," Piebalgs told reporters after talks with Russian energy officials.
The EU's Energy Charter was adopted in 1991 and signed by 49 countries and the European Union.
It sets out principles for integrating the energy systems of eastern Europe and western Europe along market lines, for protection of foreign investment and resolution of disputes.
But Russia, which supplies almost a quarter of EU gas needs, has refused to ratify the Charter, arguing that in addition to being a dominant producer, it must also have access to the downstream distribution sector.
Medvedev said this month his document aimed to achieve "a balance of producers of energy resources, transit states and consumers."
Piebalgs' talks with top Russian officials such as Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin were intended to improve ties after a cut-off of Russian supplies in January left a swathe of European countries without gas in mid-winter.
The EU commissioner also tried to allay Russian concerns about an agreement between Brussels and Ukraine on modernizing the crucial Ukrainian transit network. Russia has voiced fears it might be cut out of the infrastructure development work in Ukraine.
"There's no intention to isolate Russia or make Russia more vulnerable. It's really an honest attempt from our side to modernise the transport system," said Piebalgs.
He did not reject Medvedev's energy proposals outright, saying they were more "ambitious" and "global" and could apply "to each and every country, to each and every energy player."
Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko defended Medvedev's proposals, saying they were born out of his country's accumulated experience of investing in upstream energy fields and infrastructure.
Big oil and gas producers like Russia need guarantees of future demand from downstream consumers, Shmatko said.
"We want to be sure that in taking decisions on investments that will take place over decades, we want to have security, relating to delivery of our resources to the outside world," he said.
The proposal by Medvedev is one of two he has put forward that represent a challenge to Western powers, as he has also proposed a revamp of existing security structures in the Euro-Atlantic region.
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