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EU's big chance to reform Russia's corrupt gas trade
) The European Union was dragged unwillingly into the Russia-Ukraine gas war, but analysts say the EU's role as mediator now gives it the chance to seek reforms of Russia's multibillion-dollar gas trade.
- AP
- Published: 23:31 January 12, 2009
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Moscow: The European Union was dragged unwillingly into the Russia-Ukraine gas war, but analysts say the EU's role as mediator now gives it the chance to seek reforms of Russia's multibillion-dollar gas trade.
Critics have charged that shadowy intermediaries earn fortunes from Russia's estimated $75 billion in annual gas sales to Ukraine and Europe, and recently top Russian and Ukrainian officials have joined in calling for reform.
"We have to work together in Europe to try to force Russia and Ukraine to adopt a level of transparency," said Tom Mayne of Global Witness, a London-based rights group that focuses on resource issues, on Sunday.
Anders Aslund, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics in Washington, said in an e-mail that the EU should call for the elimination of all middlemen from the gas trade "as they are just means of stealing from [Russian state gas company] Gazprom and the Ukrainian state, and the corrupt revenues are poisoning Ukraine's politics."
The EU has negotiated a deal to monitor Russian gas flow via Ukraine pipelines in a bid to end the cutoff that has left large parts of Europe without heat in freezing temperatures. Russia said it would only resume supplies if EU monitors track the flow and make sure Ukraine doesn't siphon off gas intended for Europe.
Both Russia and Ukraine have strong interests in developing ties with the EU, and they both aggressively sought its support in the crisis. Russia needs support from Europe for prospective pipelines bypassing Ukraine, while Ukraine has been seeking membership in the EU and NATO as part of its efforts to shed Moscow's influence.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin claimed the current dispute reflected a "high degree of official corruption" in Ukraine. He did not mention Russia.
Putin told reporters that Ukrainian authorities were fighting "not for the price of gas but for a possibility to maintain one or other intermediaries so that they can use the proceeds for their personal gain and also get resources for future political campaigns."
But Aslund and others say that powerful figures in both Ukraine and Russia profit behind the scenes from the gas business.
Aslund has said the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute was "a conflict between very shady businessmen" rather than a dispute between sovereign nations.
"And the amazing thing here is that the EU countries do nothing to secure their energy supplies," he said. "Here they allow themselves to be vulnerable because of some shady organised crime deals."
The main intermediary in Russia's gas trade is RosUkrEnergo, a Swiss-based trading company. According to corporate websites, it is half-owned by Russia's Gazprom and half by CentraGas Holding.
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