Wednesday, March 21- European Union

Wednesday, March 21

The EU published an article on March 13, 2007 entitled "Blair Calls on Moscow to Play by Energy Rules." It begins, stating "Russia should play by the same rules in energy supplies as Europe and the US so as to gain trust on the international scene, UK prime minister Tony Blair has said." Russia cut gas and oil supplies to Europe in 2006 and again this year. The rest of the EU is angry with Russia because Russia has been cutting supplies without warning them, and because Russia will not agree to the international Energy Charter.
The European Union has been busy lately, deciding on and setting new energy policies, and Tony Blair says that the main reason for this is Moscow's behavior. The British government is soon to announce a climate change bill that will permit the country to shift to low-carbon energy. "The new legislation will aim to cut the UK's CO2 emissions by 60 percent by the year 2050 which would see a special carbon budget set every five years which ministers would manage 'with the same prudence and discipline' as economic budgets," reads the article. This threatens Russia's trade with the rest of the EU, since they will purchase less and less gas and oil over the next 40 years. This will effect Russia's economy substantially, for gas and oil are a big export for them.

http://euobserver.com/19/23682