BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

03/08/2007

EU calls gas meeting over Russia, Belarus supply row

(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission, concerned by a gas dispute between Russia and major transit country Belarus, on Thursday called for a meeting next week of the EU's gas coordination group.

"The Commission believes that a safe and undisturbed supply of energy is of key importance for Europe's economy," the EU's executive arm said in a statement.

"Energy supply disputes in the EU's direct neighbourhood are therefore of serious concern to the European Commission."

The announcement came as Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said that Minsk would pay 460 million dollars to Russia's Gazprom to avoid a cut in gas deliveries, news agency Interfax reported.

"I have ordered the government to dip into our reserves and pay the 460 million dollars for Russian gas," Lukashenko said, referring to an outstanding bill that Gazprom earlier said would force a gas cut-off from Friday.

Belarus is a key transit country for Russian oil and gas supplies to western Europe. About 20 percent of Russian gas imports to European Union nations transit through Belarus, mainly to Poland, Germany and Lithuania.

A dispute over prices led to disruptions in oil supplies to several European countries earlier this year.

A similar dispute over gas prices with Ukraine, another key transit country, last year prompted cut-offs to western Europe and a wide debate about Europe's increasing reliance on Russian energy imports.

"The Commission calls on both sides of the dispute to find swiftly an amicable settlement, to respect contractual obligations, to react in proportionate manner to disagreements and in any event not to disturb, neither directly nor indirectly, the gas supply to EU member states," the Eu statement read.

The Gas Coordination Group was established by an EU law dealing with measures to safeguard security of natural gas supply and is composed of the representatives of member states, representative bodies of the industry concerned and of relevant consumers. It is chaired by the Commission.

An EU spokesman said that invitations for a meeting of the group next Wednesday were being sent out.

Source:

http://www.eubusiness.com/Energy/russia-belarus-gas.79