Russia gains leverage with gas

Thursday's plenary meeting between the EU Commission and the Russian government dealt among other topics with the Third Energy Package which comes into force in March. EU representatives want the package to prevent companies such as Russia's Gazprom from controlling pipelines in the EU, a proposal which Russia rejects. And it has every right to do so, writes the daily Delo: "The European Union and the Russian government failed to reach a compromise at the meeting. But Russia's geopolitical situation gives it a greater chance of victory. Its biggest trump is the unrest in North Africa, where the EU has been buying more gas since the gas dispute with Russia two years ago. If natural gas supplies from North Africa are interrupted it is highly probable that European consumers will become even more dependent on Russia."

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