Brussels, 12/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Union advisory group of crude oil experts, convened on Thursday by European Commission Vice-President Loyola de Palacio (see EUROPE of 10 April, p.12) to look at the current rise in oil prices and recommend measures that might need to be taken did not adopt any conclusions or particular recommendations. The group of oil experts from the EU's 15 Member States said that recommendations could be issued at its next meeting, but gave no date for the gathering.
Vladimir Putin slams EU restrictions on oil and gas imports from outside EU
Speaking at a debate of politicians and business leaders on the fringes of the Germany-Russia summit in Weimar on Tuesday, the Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to put obstacles in the way of economic cooperation with the European Union if it did not lift its restrictions on oil and gas imports from countries outside the EU, since EU countries cannot import more than 30% of their oil and gas from countries outside the EU. Putin said that if Europe sees Russia as an alien, then of course, they could put obstacles in the way of developing co-operation with Europe, adding that if Russia is treated as an equal, it would respect all its commitments. Russia currently provides around a third of Germany's natural gas requirements and a quarter of its oil supplies, noted the Russian President, arguing that lifting the restrictions on Germany's imports would enable prices to be lowered and stabilised. The IEA (International Energy Agency) said that in February 2002 Russia was the world's leading oil producer, with Saudi Arabia in second place. The Russian gas giant Gazprom is the world's biggest gas producer.