European Union representatives are to hold an emergency meeting on the Russian-Ukrainian gas row on Monday and could send an investigating team to the two countries within days, officials in Brussels confirmed Saturday, according to dpa. The permanent ambassadors of the EU's 27 member states - their highest representatives in Brussels - are to hold an extraordinary meeting on Monday to discuss Russia's shut-off of gas to Ukraine, EU officials told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. And energy experts from the Czech government, the current holder of the EU's rotating presidency, and the EU's executive, the European Commission, could travel to Russia and Ukraine in a bid to find out what exactly is happening with gas supplies, Czech vice-premier Alexandr Vondra told journalists after meeting Russian gas officials. Commission sources confirmed that a fact-finding mission was being discussed, but stressed that it would not be aimed at mediating between the parties, despite Ukrainian calls for EU intervention. Both Russia and Ukraine have been carrying out a sustained public-relations campaign since Russian gas monopolist Gazprom turned off gas supplies to Ukraine on Thursday. Both countries are set to send delegations around European capitals in the coming days, with Gazprom's export chief, Alexander Medvedev, leading the Russian mission. But details of the exact state of affairs in Central and Eastern European EU member states remain unclear, with conflicting reports speaking of gas volumes falling or remaining constant. The EU is heavily reliant on Russian gas supplies which transit through Ukraine, but will now consider speeding up the construction of pipelines which bring gas to Europe from other sources via other routes, Vondra said.
