BRUSSELS, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Nothing is more important to European energy security than power and natural gas transports, the European energy commissioner said from Brussels.
The European community is looking for ways to break the Russian grip on the energy sector. Market vulnerabilities were exposed most recently in 2009 when disputes between Kiev and Moscow over gas contracts prompted Russian gas company Gazprom to cut supplies through Ukraine's gas transmission network.
That decision left Europeans in the cold for weeks because 80 percent of their gas from Russian runs through Ukrainian pipelines.
Gunther Oettinger, the European energy commissioner, said Europe needed a common energy market soon.
"By 2014, power and gas should be transported as easily throughout Europe as goods and services," he said in a statement to European lawmakers. "Nothing will help us more to ensure security of supply in energy resources and affordable prices for consumers and industry alike than a real European marketplace in energy."
The European Parliament concluded that "major efforts" were needed to update and expand regional energy networks and link them across European borders.
"Safe, secure, sustainable and affordable energy contributing to European competitiveness remains a priority for Europe," the bloc concluded.
