Gas pains
2006-01-03
Jiří Paroubek and Mirek Topolánek managed to get through an
entire debate on Sun. without mentioning the natural-gas crisis
in Ukraine. By yesterday, though, Paroubek was assuring Czechs
that all is well. It probably is for now, but Russia has stated that
its foreign policy will hinge on energy exports. The CR's gas
imports from Russia are assured until 2013, when RWE
Transgas's contracts expire, but what then? Might Gazprom,
under Chairman Vladimir Putin, use its leverage to buy Transgas
with Gerhard Schröder's help, or might it slow the flow of gas so
that it can boost deliveries to China? There's a general feeling
that the CR has extricated itself from Russia's sphere of
influence, but its 70%-dependence on Russian gas and the rise
of GTS Novera as a threat to Český Telecom and the mobile
operators tend to negate this somewhat. The ground actually
seems to be firming for an increase in Russian influence over
Czech business and politics.
[Czech Republic telecommunications telecoms Germany]
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