Brussels, 26/06/2006 (Agence Europe) - With the expiry of the temporary agreement between Russia and Ukraine approaching, which in January ended a conflict over gas that had lasted several months and which had had a severe impact on the European Union (9101 and 9102), Europe is dreading the re-opening of the dossier. By promising to review the Russian-Ukrainian gas agreement, which she judges “too opaque”, and to substantially revise the Russian gas tariffs sold to its country, Ukrainian prime minister Ioulia Timochenko (who is currently forming her government), has raised a lot of fears in the European Union. Some Member States experienced cuts in Russian gas supply, which was being sent through the Ukraine, following delivery failures provoked by Moscow, following Ukraine's failure pay its bills after Russia attempted to quadruple its sales prices to Ukraine. Recent statements by Ms Timochenko, who described last January's agreement with Moscow by the previous Ukrainian government as “betraying the national interest”, have irritated Gazprom. Last week the giant Russian company announced a new hike in gas prices to Ukraine, which could rise from 95 to 230 dollars for 1000 cubic meters. At the end of the week, Gazprom accused Ukraine of having been the “weakest link” in European energy supply and of having begun a “major gas war which affects all of Europe”. According to Les Echos on 26 June, Energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs followed the exchanges on gas between the two countries “very attentively” and hopes that “the two parties, through negotiation, will achieve a satisfactory situation that does not threaten gas supply in Europe”.