Following recent developments in Europe 's gas crisis, experts at the European Council on Foreign Relations have issued the following reactions:
Pierre Nöel, Senior Policy Fellow and energy Expert, says: "It's high time the EU gets serious about gas security and presses ahead with the creation of a single gas market. Moreover, the EU must be instrumental in the push for investment in energy security in Eastern Member States. The Czech Presidency should organise a summit where each member state is asked to present a national action plan, which could be backed by common resources."
Andrew Wilson, Senior Policy Fellow and expert on Russia and Ukraine, says: "Europe has woken up to the fact that gas 'crises' are now an annual New Year event, and is rightly resentful at being held hostage to a far-off argument between two neighbouring states. But the truth is even worse: Europe is being held hostage to a Russo-Ukrainian corruption scheme which is a cancer in the politics of the whole of Eastern Europe ."
Vessela Tcherneva, Senior Policy Fellow and Head of ECFR's Sofia Office, says:
"The lesson from the gas crisis in Bulgaria and other countries in the region is that close bilateral relationships with Russia do not translate into gas security. Countries such as Bulgaria , Serbia and Greece , who played the role of Russian 'Trojan horses', were among the first whose gas deliveries were interrupted. Only a European-wide solution - interconnecting the networks of East and West - can be a sustainable one."
ECFR argues for an EU energy security conference to discuss and agree national strategies by vulnerable states to make the European Union less vulnerable for these kinds of crisis situations. The Czech presidency should take the lead in designing a common EU response to this recurring challenge, which regards the whole EU, and not only the East European countries, which are directly affected by the gas cut.
See more on this issue:
EU press Russia to comply its obligations
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