Brussels must broaden energy alliances

By Daniel Dombey in London
Published: January 9 2007 02:00 Last updated: January 9 2007 02:00


The European Union must bolster its ties with all its energy producing partners to avoid becoming too dependent on any one source, the EU's long-awaited shake-up of energy policy will say on Wednesday.
Although the European Commission's plan does not explicitly spell out Brussels' fears about the dangers of relying increasingly on Russian gas, it calls for the EU to rally round a policy of strengthening ties with alternative producers, particularly with the former Soviet states.
"Energy must become an integral part of all external EU relations," says a draft of the document, which will be presented by José Manuel Barroso, Commission president.
"The EU must therefore develop effective energy relations with all its international partners . . . This means relations broadened in geographical scope and deepened in nature."
The Commission sets outa series of "targeted ini-tiatives", headed by itstroubled attempt to convince Russia to open up its gas market.
It also calls for stronger ties to Norway, a new "strategic energy partnership" with Algeria, the bloc'sthird largest gas supplier, and more extensive EU level contacts with Qatar.
However, the proposal focuses much of its attention on closer ties with central Asia and the Caucasus, including the implementation of recent agreements with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan "to facilitate the transport of Caspian energy resources to the EU".
The draft sets out the ambition of reaching sim-ilar deals with Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan this year.
The importance of such suppliers is likely to be bolstered by the scheduled completion of the Nabucco gas pipeline through Turkey in the early years of the next decade.
The EU is also continuing efforts to draw Ankara into a fledgling arrangement to establish common rules for energy in the south-east of Europe.
The paper says the bloc should also link energy policy and development policy by helping bring renewable energy technology to Africa. It also envisages the launch of a high profile Africa-Europe energy partnership "at the highest level" to help with issues such as security of supply.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007