By Martin Banks - 14th January 2009
What seems clear is that the promised resumption of gas supplies to the EU has not happened
Hans-Gert Pöttering
Parliament’s president Hans-Gert Pöttering has urged Russia and Ukraine to ensure that gas supplies to Europe resume immediately.
The German MEP said he was “very concerned” about latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute.
“What seems clear is that the promised resumption of gas supplies to the EU has not happened,” he said.
Supplies were due to resume on Tuesday but, said Pöttering, EU countries were “still waiting” for gas to start flowing again.
Pöttering, who last week hosted a visit to parliament of Gazprom chairman Alexei Miller, said, “I call on both the Russian and Ukrainian authorities to uphold the agreement mediated by the EU which they also signed.”
At the meeting Miller pledged that supplies would be restored as soon as EU monitor were in place.
Pottering added, “In particular, the EU technical monitors must be granted full access to the installations in both Ukraine and Russia. This is indispensable for ensuring that the gas destined for EU member states will arrive unhindered.
“This bilateral dispute needs to come to an end rapidly and the EU wants to be assured that both Russia and Ukraine are reliable partners in energy supply. EU citizens are the ones caught in the crossfire and we must do everything to protect their interests.”
He was speaking as hundreds of thousands of Europeans began a second week with little or no heat in their homes, offices or schools.
Bulgarian prime minister Sergei Stanishev and Slovakian premier Robert Fico, whose countries have been particularly badly hit by the gas crisis, are expected in Moscow today to begin talks with Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin.
After visiting Moscow, the Bulgarian and Slovakian leaders will head to Kiev for discussions with Ukraine’s premier Yulia Tymoshenko.
The development could anger both the Czech Republic, the current holder of the EU presidency, and the commission, which have called for a united front in the negotiations with Russia and Ukraine.
