Awwal 18, 1432 H/Feb 21, 2011, SPA -- Russia's Gazprom said Monday Moscow wants the European Union to clarify how Europe's new common energy policy can be implemented without harming Russia's interests, according to AP. Gazprom's CEO Alexei Miller voiced concern that the new blueprint, also known as the Third Energy Package, would hurt Russian gas supplies and discourage investors from funding gas pipeline projects. The Third Energy Package, which comes into force in March, aims to boost competition in the European gas market by separating gas production from pipeline management to prevent one company from controlling the entire supply chain in a country. The package gives EU member states three options on how to deal with companies that both export gas to the EU and own a pipeline. The most drastic option would force a gas producer to sell its pipeline _ a route only Lithuania has chosen so far. A second option _ picked by most countries _ forces gas producers to transfer the management of their pipeline to an independent entity, but allows them to continue owning it. Under the third option, a gas producer could hold on to the pipeline but would have to allow other companies to use it according to objective guidelines. Marlene Holzner, a spokeswoman for the EU's Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger, said the EU needed more competition in the gas market to ensure fair prices for consumers and companies. Gazprom's Miller said Russia could sign a road map with the EU over gas supplies through 2050 at Russia-EU talks next week. Europe is Russia's key market for gas, but Moscow has been concerned about Brussels' plans to diversify away from its supplies. Many EU countries _ including all Baltic states, Slovakia and Finland _ get all their gas from Russia, which in the past has cut off supplies amid disputes over pricing.
