site.btaSoutheastern Europe Remains Unprepared for Possible Energy Crisis, Observers Say

Southeastern Europe Remains Unprepared for Possible Energy Crisis, Observers Say

Sofia, October 27 (BTA) - Southeastern Europe and the Black Sea
region remain unprepared to respond adequately to a possible
energy crisis as the conflict in Eastern Ukraine goes on. The
conclusion was drawn Monday at a conference on "Energy Security
and State Capture Risks in Europe," hosted by the Sofia-based
Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD).

Opening the conference, Bulgarian Defence Minister Velizar
Shalamanov pointed to a direct link between energy supplies and
national security, which is due to the fact that both of these
areas are dependent on external factors. Shalamanov said
Bulgaria imports natural gas exclusively from Russia, which is a
form of dependence similar to the dependence resulting from the
continuing failure of the Bulgarian Air Force to replace its
Russian fighters with other aircraft after more than 10 years of
talks.

Michael Ruhle, Head of the Energy Security Section in NATO's
International Staff, said the crisis in Ukraine has brought home
the understanding that geographical location is essential for
energy security and gas pipelines mean economic and political
power. Ruhle said that besides the military solidarity
epitomized by NATO, it is necessary to have energy solidarity in
the EU.

A CSD study shows that the countries of Central and Eastern
Europe pay 100 US dollars more than the Western European nations
for 1,000 cubic metres of natural gas. This is due to the
almost complete dependence of Central and Eastern Europe on
Russian gas. Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, Macedonia and
Serbia get 100 per cent of their gas imports from Russia, but
the dependence of the national economy on imported gas is only
24.3 per cent in Romania, compared with 90 per cent in Bulgaria.

The price of natural gas is 399 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres
in Romania, 400 dollars in Moldova, 503 dollars in the Czech
Republic and 458 dollars in Bulgaria, the study shows. More than
30 per cent of Bulgarians are unable to heat their homes well,
because energy prices are too high in relation to their incomes.

According to representatives of European research centres who
spoke at the conference, one way to overcome energy dependence
is to set reserve quotas for the EU member states according to
the degree of their vulnerability in case of gas import
interruption. Another viable solution is to boost investments in
the European gas and electricity systems.