Energy fears to dominate Russia, EU summit

MOSCOW - Fears of a repeat of last winter's cutoff in Russian gas deliveries to Europe cast a shadow over Russia's summit with the European Union, to be held in Sweden on Wednesday.

As spats continue between Russia and Ukraine, through which most of the gas reaches Europe, the EU and Russia agreed Monday to create an early warning system to minimize the damage of possible energy supply disruptions.

Though the deal was timed to ease tension on the eve of the summit, it is unlikely to provide much comfort to EU leaders after Russia warned last week that another stoppage in gas deliveries was not ruled out if Ukraine fails to pay its bills.

This, along with outstanding disagreements over trade, human rights abuses and last year's war in Georgia, have many observers doubting the summit will produce a breakthrough in relations.

"EU-Russia relations aren't the greatest right now, and so the expectations (for the summit) are probably not set too high," said Carolina Vendil-Pallin, a Russia expert at the Swedish Defence Research Agency in Stockholm.

In January, Russia's gas deliveries to Europe were halted for two weeks over a dispute with Ukraine involving price and payments. As a result, factories shut down in many parts of Eastern Europe and millions of people went without heating in the middle of winter.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said last week that Russia would close the taps once again if Ukraine fails to pay for its natural gas or begins siphoning from the pipeline — through which Europe gets some 20 percent of its gas.

With Ukraine in the grips of a presidential election, many fear that Kiev might miss a monthly payment to Russia. Putin has called on Europe to put up over $1 billion to help Ukraine cancel its debt to Russia, an idea that EU leaders dismissed.

Still, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who will travel to Sweden, is likely to press European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on this issue.

"We are calling on the European Union to participate actively in a number of preventive measures, including financial assistance, in order to guarantee the uninterrupted transit of energy supplies through Ukrainian territory," Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's representative in the EU, told reporters Friday.

Sergei Shmatko, Russia's energy minister, said that the proposed early warning system would also be used for deliveries of crude oil, coal and electricity. Under the system, the EU and Russia will notify each other of any supply interruptions and then draft a joint plan for a solution.

While in Stockholm, Russia and EU leaders are also expected to discuss climate change, trade and human rights.

Brussels is hoping to convince Moscow to make a steeper commitment to reduce greenhouse gases on the eve of the December U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen. Meanwhile, European exporters have called on the commission to address the potential threats posed by a customs union that Russia intends to form with Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Russia has said it would only join the World Trade Organization together with its neighbors. Cecilia Malmstrom, Sweden's minister for EU affairs, expressed fears that this would slow down accession talks and negatively affect trade between the two sides.

"In general Russia likes to deal with individual countries," said Maria Lipman, a political expert with the Carnegie Moscow Center. "Some EU members, particularly in Eastern Europe, tend to be suspicious of Russia, and this ... creates a background in which Russia prefers, and is more efficient at, building relations with individual countries."

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Associated Press writer Louise Nordstrom in Stockholm contributed to this report.

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