EU sehr besorgt über erneute Gaskrise[en] 

On 31 December 2008, Russia stopped supplying gas to Ukraine over a payment dispute. Russia said Ukraine was stealing natural gas destined for Europe for its own needs. Ukraine denied the charges, but said it needed "technical gas" to pump fuel through the pipeline system (EurActiv 05/01/09). 

On 6 January, supplies to Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Croatia were completely halted (First story; EurActiv 06/01/09). It also emerged that several countries, including Bulgaria, did not have enough reserves to make up for a supply cut. 

Next, the conflict left Europe with no supply of Ukrainian gas at all (Second story; EurActiv 06/01/09). Bulgaria signaled that it could restart one of the nuclear reactors at its Kozloduy nuclear power plant, the closure of which was one of the conditions of the country's EU accession (EurActiv 07/01/09). Slovakia followed suit a few days later (EurActiv 12/01/09). 

At this point, the EU agreed to send observers to monitor the supply of gas earmarked for Europe (EurActiv 08/01/09). A few days of hectic telephone diplomacy followed, The political aspects of the stalemate began to surface amid signs that it was weakening the positions of pro-Western President Victor Yushchenko, support for whom fell to an appalling 2% (EurActiv 14/01/09). 

On 17 January, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Timoshenko struck a deal, saying the crisis was over (EurActiv 19/01/09). The EU reacted cautiously. 

According to the deal, Kiev will pay 20% less for Russian gas than the European market price, or around $450 per 1,000 cubic metres. Meanwhile, Russia said it will continue to pay $1.7 per 1,000 cubic metres for each 100 kilometres of gas transited via the Ukrainian pipeline system. Many observers decided that Russia 'won' the conflict, as the new terms appeared to be worse than those agreed a year earlier. 

On 20 January, supplies to Europe began to flow again. Commission President José Manuel Barroso welcomed the resumption of deliveries, after a two-week standoff that left millions of East Europeans without heating in the middle of winter (EurActiv 22/01/09). But he also warned that long-term lessons should be drawn from the crisis. 

"We are very concerned with the latest news from Ukraine and the comments of the [Russian] prime minister [Vladimir Putin]," Barroso told a news conference after receiving Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev. 

Hours before, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow would halt gas deliveries to Ukraine if payment were not received by Saturday, and this could also affect supplies to Europe. 

A January dispute between Russia and Ukraine led to Russian gas supplies to Europe being severed for almost two weeks, triggering the EU's worst-ever energy crisis. 

"We have already [...] stressed our strong condemnation of this kind of situation," Barroso told reporters. 

"I think the credibility of Russia and Ukraine will of course be affected if we have another gas crisis," he added, standing next to the leaders of one of the countries worst-hit by the January gas shut-off. 

The European Union has monitors in place to check on the flow of Russian gas through the key Ukraine pipeline, and Barroso said their numbers could be boosted if necessary. 

Stanishev, speaking alongside Barroso, said a situation where countries are held "hostage" on gas supplies is unacceptable. Bulgaria was the most affected country during the January gas crisis. 

Barroso made it clear that the Commission would not accept the reopening of nuclear units at the Kozlodui nuclear power plant, which Bulgaria had closed as part of its accession deal. But he but said that the Commission will examine demands by Sofia for additional decommissioning funding. Barroso also said that the Commission could provide support to Bulgaria by granting of over 500 million Euros in the form of preliminary payments along European programmes. 

Stanishev said these demands were legitimate, as Slovakia and Lithuania had been benefiting from more generous decommissioning assistance. 

Political heat 

Putin made his statements after Ukraine's SBU security service tried yesterday (5 March) to gain entry to the offices of the authority overseeing Ukraine's gas pipelines. It was the second such incident in as many days apparently connected to Ukraine's gas deals with Russia. 

The raids also served to highlight worsening tension between Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko: former allies now at loggerheads. 

Timoshenko, addressing her cabinet, said the security forces were out of control and acting at the president's behest. Yushchenko's spokesperson said the SBU's first raid on Naftogaz had acted within the law. 

In the meantime, Gazprom received $310 million from Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz for February gas deliveries, but a further $50 million was still owed, the Russian gas export monopoly said in a statement. 

(EurActiv with Reuters)