EU energy security a U.S. matter

WARSAW, Poland, July 16 (UPI) -- European energy security plays an integral role in the strategic relationship with the United States, write former leaders from Central and Eastern Europe.

Threats to European political sovereignty and key decisions by NATO members are linked inextricably to regional energy supplies. Because of this, European energy security is a trans-Atlantic issue, write the leaders in the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza.

In an open letter to Washington, former leaders from Central and Eastern European nations, from Poland to the Czech Republic, lay out a series of measures they see as defining the "future quality of relations between the United States and the countries of our region."

The leaders say the European Union needs to work together to enact "tough legally scrutiny" on what they see as an abuse of a Russian energy monopoly and "cartel-like power inside the EU."

In an effort to ease that control, Europe is pushing for the ambitious Nabucco pipeline that could sideline Russia. Moscow, for its part, is pursuing partnerships within Europe to advocate its Nord Stream and South Stream gas pipeline alternatives.

To that aim, Washington has a role to play in backing the Nabucco pipeline, as it did the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, by exploiting its relationship with Turkey and other key players to push the project forward, the leaders say.