Piebalgs lobbies for EU energy plan

BRUSSELS, July 20 (UPI) -- The European Commission needs to restore confidence in the energy sector as it struggles to overcome a market dependent on Russia, officials say.

A January dispute between Kiev and Moscow over gas contracts and debt prompted Russian energy giant Gazprom to cut the flow of gas to Ukraine. That left Europe in the cold for weeks as 80 percent of its Russian gas supplies flow through Ukrainian pipelines.

The contract settling that dispute requires Ukraine to pay its debts to Russia on the seventh of each month. The January disruptions have threatened to resurface each month since as the Ukrainian economy suffers during the global recession.

The European Commission adopted new regulation last week calling on member states to monitor gas supplies with the aim of averting a potential energy crisis.

The European Commission said it would require member states to appoint a "competent authority" to monitor gas supply developments, determine any risks and recommend the appropriate actions to prevent an energy crisis.

European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs on his Web site says the new regulations will provide the "cornerstone" to confidence-building measures in the regional energy sector.

"We need to reinforce our security of gas supply with market based mechanisms, while considering national specificities and without losing the strengths offered by the European dimension," he writes.