The successful lobbying of the Baltic states and Poland

The European Commission's proposals for liberalising Europe's energy markets while at the same time restricting access for non-European companies will pose a considerable hurdle to Russian energy giant Gazprom's plans for expansion, Ceslovas Iskauskas writes: "The ban from Brussels aimed at preventing further monopolisation of the European energy sector is a reaction to Moscow's refusal to sign the energy charter. Russia instead opted to raise the price of gas supplies to Georgia, Ukraine and Belarus as a means of exerting political pressure. Initially Brussels was hesitant, but the persistent protests of the Baltic countries and Poland against the Baltic Sea gas pipeline have persuaded it to take action."

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