EU unveils energy plan on eve of Putin summit

[jpak]

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=144025

BRUSSELS, OCT 19: The European Commission approved a plan to cut EU energy use by 20% by 2020 on Thursday, a day before European leaders raise their concerns about oil and gas supplies with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

The plan for increased efficiency in buildings, cars, power generators and electrical products comes as demand and competition for energy is growing worldwide and EU doubts have grown about the reliability of Russian supplies. In Moscow on Thursday, a senior Kremlin aide reiterated Russian objections to ratifying an Energy Charter the EU wants to see governing energy activity across the Eurasian continent.

“If Russia is not prepared to ratify the charter in its current form, it’s time to start changing wording we cannot accept,” ITAR-TASS quoted Sergei Yastrzhembsky as saying. “There are no other options,” added Yastrzhembsky, Putin’s aide in charge of EU ties. Moscow has refused to ratify the charter as it opposes a protocol which would oblige Russia to open up gas monopoly Gazprom’s export pipeline network to other companies. The energy issue will be a hot topic on Friday in the Finnish town of Lahti, where EU leaders have invited Putin.

They will be seeking guarantees of fair treatment in the energy sector, but are likely to come away disappointed. The EU is largely dependent on foreign energy, a concern for the bloc’s leaders who are trying to secure supplies while demand in developing states such as India and China skyrockets. Russia supplies a quarter of Europe’s gas and EU states worry it uses its energy resources as a political weapon.

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