Gesture that speaks volumes. Who, last week, could have failed to see - in the newspapers, on television or on internet - pictures of Vladimir Putin shaking hands with the President of the European Council Mirek Topolánek? The gesture marked the conclusion of the agreement between the EU and Russia on observers responsible for monitoring the flow of Russian natural gas to Europe through Ukraine (an agreement later shared by the Ukrainian government). After the negotiations conducted by the EU as a bloc (Council Presidency, European Commission, High Representative for the CFSP, with the support and backing of the European Parliament, which, in practice, had opened specific dialogue with the two countries involved), the gesture had a slightly symbolic significance. I believe that that was the moment when the Czech Presidency realised the extent to which the EU is a strong political reality, extending far beyond the role of managing the single market and simply coordinating national stances (see this column in newsletter N° 9814). The direct action of the Community institutions was the determining factor in the resumption of the normal supply of Russian gas, although the latest information would suggest that there have been further complications (see following pages).
The EU acting as a bloc. The European Commission, in my opinion, made a mistake initially in saying that it was up to Russia and Ukraine alone to solve their dispute. It was a trade dispute, was the word from Brussels, and it was up to them to sort it out. President Barroso then brought a partial readjustment to this position, highlighting that Russia had to fully meet its undertakings to supply gas to the EU, and that Ukraine had to play its role, fairly and honestly, as a transit country. If there was no swift return to normality, Barroso said, Russia would compromise its position as a reliable supplier and Ukraine would have brought doubt to its place as an applicant country for the eastern partnership that the EU is about to launch. It was, however, the European Parliament that was the first to understand that the EU had to intervene as a bloc in the dispute, and that, in practice, brought the Community institutions into the negotiations, by inviting Gazprom (Russia) and Naftogaz (Ukraine) leaders to address an extraordinary meeting of its foreign affairs committee. Thus it was that Russia, in practice, undertook to restore the normal supply of gas as soon as the “observers” were in place, and Ukraine agreed to the monitoring team, guaranteeing full supply to Europe as soon as Russian supplies were fully restored, and undertaking to resume normal flow within 36 hours. The EU bloc thus played its part in negotiations. The Czech Presidency did not take the initiative, but quickly understood that it could not restrict itself to convening internal EU meetings, and it played its part along with the European Commission and the High Representative for the CFSP. And there we had Topolánek on an immensely political visit to Moscow, abandoning the doctrine that the EU would only be an economic organisation responsible for managing the common market, in similar fashion to EFTA.
Quicker than expected. I will not speak of doctrine; everyone is free to hold his/her own opinions. The member states most affected by the halt in Russian supplies, however, must surely have understood that each acting alone would have carried very little clout against Moscow (and maybe some realised that the United Stares is too far away and has other concerns for it to want to intervene directly). For the Czech Presidency, understanding of the role of the EU as a world political force came perhaps more quickly than expected for those who predicted six months of modest ambition, with priority given to implementing already existing policies with, at best, some slight acceleration. The first EU Council convened by the Czech Presidency in Prague approved a declaration setting out a genuine European energy policy, in which all member states would have to show responsibility and solidarity, covering the interconnection of energy networks and providing for a crisis, an early warning, mechanism. Deputy Prime Minister with responsibility for European Affairs Alexandr Vondra announced that energy security would be on the agenda for the next General Affairs/External Relations Council. Is there any need to point out that the Lisbon Treaty provides for a common energy policy and paves the way for its becoming a reality?
This realisation should extend to Czech political parties, the national parliament and the general public. Of course, eurosceptics, too, have the right to express their views however they choose to do so: the creation of a new political party led by Petr Mach (former adviser to President Vaclav Klaus) should even be considered as something positive, since it shed some light on matters.
(F.R./transl.rt)