Russia in the European energy sector: Difference between revisions

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			#REDIRECT ]
	{{npov\|date=October 2009}}
	'''European dependence on Russian energy''' is heavy and it is regarded as the main '''European energy security''' concern. The ] imports nearly half of its ] and 30 percent of its ] from Russia.<ref name="cohen"/> Russia is consolidating its grip on oil and gas in Europe.<ref name="cohen"/> The European Union has made proposals to diversify energy supply. One of them is the ].

	==Major gas recipients==
	]

	Major recipients of Russian natural gas in 2005 (percentage of total domestic consumption):<ref name="cohen">{{cite web \| url=https://www.policyarchive.org/bitstream/handle/10207/13043/bg_2083.pdf?sequence=1 \| title=Europe’s Strategic Dependence on Russian Energy \| author=Ariel Cohen \| date=November 5, 2007}}</ref>
	# {{flag\|Slovakia}} 108%
	# {{flag\|Finland}} 105%
	# {{flag\|Greece}} 96%
	# {{flag\|Bulgaria}} 89%
	# {{flag\|Czech Republic}} 84%
	# {{flag\|Austria}} 70%
	# {{flag\|Turkey}} 65%
	# {{flag\|Hungary}} 62%
	# Former ] 57%
	# {{flag\|Poland}} 47%
	# {{flag\|Germany}} 43%
	# {{flag\|Italy}} 30%
	# {{flag\|France}} 26%
	# {{flag\|Romania}} 23%
	# {{flag\|Switzerland}} 12%

	==Russian companies==
	{{main\|Gazprom\|List of Gazprom's subsidiaries\|Transneft}}

	] is the Russian state-owned energy company that exports gas to Europe. It also controls a ], including key infrastructure assets. ] is another important company in Russia's energy dominance.

	The purpose of some companies is unclear. An U.S. Senate testimony noted that "Gazprom, with the silent support of the Kremlin has set up 50 or so middlemen companies, silently linked to Gazprom and scattered throughout Europe - such as the ] and the ] network - which do not add any value to the price of Russian gas being sold on European markets; yet they earn enormous sums of money which appears to simply vanish through shell companies in Cyprus and in Lichtenstein."<ref>, June 12, 2008</ref>

	A paper noted that Russian firms have demanded foreign joint venture partners to agree to funnel profits through ] and well-known havens for "confidential funds" or to intermediary firms that bring no added value to the venture.<ref name="divideanddominate"/> Money laundering is used in "backdoor financing" for companies that want to conceal their Russian links and for key individuals in the West who hide the origin of their "consulting fees".<ref name="divideanddominate"/>

	==Russia's tactics==
	According to Ariel Cohen's paper "Europe's Strategic Dependence on Russian Energy" (2007):
	* ''Locking in Demand'' - Moscow is attempting to use long-term contracts with European countries to lock in demand. By dealing separately with countries rather than as a group, Moscow can discriminate countries on prices.<ref name="cohen"/>
	* ''Locking in Supply'' - Moscow attempts to consolidate its control of strategic energy infrastructure throughout Europe and Eurasia, including supply, sale, and distribution of natural gas as well as as pipelines, refineries, electric grids, and ports.<ref name="cohen"/>
	* ''Derailing Competition'' - For example, Moscow has pushed ] which competes against the EU's ] as well as the proposed extension of the EU-backed ].<ref name="cohen"/>
	* ''External Consolidation'' - Moscow is consolidating control of supply outside Russia, particularly by signing long-term exploration and supply agreements with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.<ref name="cohen"/>
	* ''Internal Consolidation'' - Moscow is consolidating Russia's oil and gas sector in the hands of state-controlled entities. Major international entities are pushed out of Russia.<ref name="cohen"/>
	* ''A Gas OPEC'' - Russia is "stealthily and steadily" developing a "gas ]" ] to control the output and price of gas. The cartel would include major producers, including Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela, Iran, and Qatar.<ref name="cohen"/>

	Moscow signed the ] in 1997, but it has refused to implement it.<ref name="divideanddominate"/>

	===Creating and cultivating interests groups===
	The Kremlin has systematically created or cultivated "friendly" interest groups in both Central and Western Europe who "benefit financially from their formal and informal ties to Russian state energy companies".<ref name="divideanddominate">{{cite book \| url=http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/081024_smith_russiaeuroenergy_web.pdf \| title=Russia and European Energy Security - Divide and Dominate] \| author=Keith C. Smith \| date=October 2008}}</ref>

	In Germany, the ] believes in a Russia-friendly policy which it calls "Ostpolitik", "cooperative energy security policy", and "strategic partnership". The leadership of SDP has widely documented ties with Kremlin and ], including posts at company boards or party donations.<ref> Stern 20. November 2007</ref> ]'s case is well-known by the public.

	In Sweden, the Swedish prosecutor's office began to investigate a bribery case in early 2009.<ref name=local190209>
	{{cite news
	\| publisher= The Local
	\| title = Nord Stream gift prompts bribery probe
	\| url= http://www.thelocal.se/17680/20090219/
	\| date = 2009-02-19
	\| accessdate=2009-04-19}}
	</ref> Swedish TV 4 also revealed that Gazprom's subsidiary ] has hired several former Swedish officials.<ref name=stockholm160209>
	{{cite news
	\| publisher= The Local
	\| title = Former political employees now on other side in the hot 'pipe line question'
	\| url= http://www.stockholmnews.com/more.aspx?NID=2700
	\| author = Tommie Ullman
	\| date = 2009-02-16
	\| accessdate=2009-04-19}}
	</ref>

	In Italy, parliamentary investigations revealed that Prime Minister ]'s friend was a major beneficiary in a Eni-Gazprom deal which involved ].<ref name="hexagon">. Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 5 Issue: 228. December 1, 2008</ref>

	In Serbia, investigations revealed a scandal at ], a Gazprom subsidiary.<ref>. Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 5 Issue: 212. November 5, 2008</ref><ref>. The Sofia Echo. Oct 22 2008</ref><ref> Kommersant Oct. 25, 2008</ref>

	] is one of the PR agencies used by Gazprom and the Kremlin.<ref>. Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 6 Issue: 148. August 3, 2009</ref> GPlus specializes in recruiting former EU officials and eminent journalists.<ref name="hones"> Euobserver 09.02.2009</ref>

	A paper by Keith C. Smith asserts that:<ref name="divideanddominate"/>

	{{quote\|There is serious political risk to Europe from its growing dependency on Russian energy resources. However, the greater danger is that this dependency is making a significant portion of Europe’s political and economic elite reliant on nontransparent financial payments that erode national sovereignty and distort national decisionmaking. }}

	==Case for prosecution==
	{{See also\|European Community competition law}}
	Antitrust and anticompetitive behavior by European and foreign companies doing business inside the European Union is prohibited by ]. In the past, the European Commission has fined monopolies such as Microsoft.<ref name="divideanddominate"/> Neither Transneft or Gazprom has yet faced anti-trust charges.<ref name="divideanddominate"/>

	Marvin Baker Schaffer says that the European Union could prosecute ] and ] under Article 82.<ref> Marvin Baker Schaffer 2008</ref> Keith C. Smith states that the price tag of Microsoft's behavior is a just small fraction of "the cost paid by Germans, Czechs, Hungarians, Italians, Greeks, and Austrians for Russian oil and gas as a direct result of the state-dictated export monopolies of Transneft and Gazprom".<ref name="divideanddominate"/>

	A panel in a seminar organized by ] and ] said that "These anti-trust and anti-competition practices are a clear violation of Article 82 of the EC Treaty and of Article 45 of the Energy Charter Treaty" and asked how many Western leaders can really "negotiate well with the seasoned KGB-ers who make energy policy"?<ref></ref>

	==References==
	{{Reflist}}

	==Further reading==
	* Bugajski, Janusz Cold Peace: Russia's New Imperialism, November 2004, ISBN 0-275-98362-5
	* Petrostate: Putin, power, and the new Russia. ]. Oxford University Press US, 2008 ISBN 0195340736
	* The New Cold War: Putin's Russia and the Threat to the West. ]. Palgrave Macmillan; Second Edition, Revised and Updated edition (March 17, 2009) ISBN 0230614345
	* The New Cold War: Revolutions, Rigged Elections, and Pipeline Politics in the Former Soviet Union, a 2007 book by ] ISBN 0786720832

	==See also==
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]

	==External links==
	*{{cite web \| url=http://www.ifri.org/files/Russie/ifri_Gazprom_paillard_anglais_mars2007.pdf \| title=Gazprom, the Fastest Way to Energy Suicide \| author=Christophe-Alexandre Paillard \| publisher=Russia/NIS Center \| date=March 2007}}
	* Robert L. Larsson March 2007
	* . Jakob Hedenskog, Robert L. Larsson. June 2007
	* {{cite web \| url=http://www.twq.com/07autumn/docs/07autumn_baran.pdf \| title=EU Energy Security: Time to End Russian Leverage \| author=Zeyno Baran \| publisher=The Washington Quaterly \| date=Autumn 2007 }}
	* {{cite web \| url=https://www.policyarchive.org/bitstream/handle/10207/13043/bg_2083.pdf?sequence=1 \| title=Europe’s Strategic Dependence on Russian Energy \| author=Ariel Cohen \| date=November 5, 2007}}
	* Marcel H. Van Herpen September 2008
	* {{cite book \| url=http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/081024_smith_russiaeuroenergy_web.pdf \| title=Russia and European Energy Security - Divide and Dominate] \| author=Keith C. Smith \| date=October 2008}}
	*{{cite web \| url=http://www.fni.no/doc&pdf/FNI-R1508.pdf \| title=Nord Stream: Not Just a Pipeline \| author=Bendik Solum Whist \| date=November 2008}}

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Revision as of 02:17, 13 October 2009

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