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Christian Keszthelyi

Wednesday, February 18, 2015, 9:50 AM CET

European Unions top energy official Maros Sefcovic said that Hungary should include the European Commission in negotiations regarding Hungarys long-term gas contract with Russia, as the European Union is working on the integration of the members energy market, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.

The Wall Street Journal said that Hungarys Prime Minister Viktor Orbn and Russias President Vladimir Putin could have made agreements that violate the competition rules and energy market regulations of the European Union.

Sefcovic said that in an ideal case, the European Commission should also be involved in the negotiations and maximum transparency should be provided regarding issues on the agenda. The energy official promised that the EU would do everything to ensure that the energy deal between Hungary and Russia conforms with EU rules and regulations.

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EU official questions Hungary-Russia energy deal

BRUSSELS, Feb 20 (Reuters) The European Union will consider "reframing" energy relations based on market conditions with Russia when the time is right and for now is focusing on building a strategic gas partnership with Ukraine, a draft document shows.

The European Commission, the EU executive, is seeking to create a single energy market, based on cross-border connections to improve security of supply and reduce dependence on Russia, which supplies roughly one third of EU energy.

Next week, the Commission is expected to publish formally its strategy on an energy union.

"When the conditions are right, the EU will consider reframing the energy relationship with Russia based on a level playing field in terms of market opening, fair competition, environmental protection and safety, for the mutual benefit of both sides," a draft of the Energy Union Package seen by Reuters says.

For now, it says particular attention will be paid to upgrading "the strategic partnership on energy" with Ukraine.

It says it will address Ukraine's importance as a transit country, as well as improving infrastructure and Ukraine's energy efficiency to reduce its dependence on imports.

Russia's long-standing gas relations with the EU and Ukraine, the main transit route for Russian gas to the EU, have deteriorated since Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimea region last year.

Fighting has persisted in Ukraine despite European efforts to ensure a ceasefire takes hold.

Russian gas giant Gazprom last June cut off supplies to Ukraine over a pricing dispute, only resuming them after the European Commission brokered a temporary deal that lasts until the end of March.

On Thursday, Russia started supplying gas to rebel-held eastern Ukraine after Kiev suspended deliveries, citing damage to the networks.

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EU to 'Reframe' Russian Energy Ties When Time is Right

The Heat: How the European Union is handling terrorism after the Charlie Hebdo attack
Dr Mustafa Yoldas Head of the Council of Muslim Organization in Hamburg Watch CCTV America LIVE on your computer, tablet or mobile http://www.cctvamericalive.com Su...

By: CCTV America

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The Heat: How the European Union is handling terrorism after the Charlie Hebdo attack - Video

NATO Secretary General - Doorstep Statement at informal meeting of EU defence ministers, 18 FEB 2015
Doorstep statement by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the informal meeting of European Union defence ministers in Riga, Latvia, 18 February 2015.

By: NATO

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NATO Secretary General - Doorstep Statement at informal meeting of EU defence ministers, 18 FEB 2015 - Video

The European Union should respond topublic apathy and anger with emotional intelligence, two analystshave argued in a 30-page paper which is likely to spark somedebatein policymaking circles.

Heather Grabbe, director of the Open Society EU policy Institute and Stefan Lehne, a visiting professor at Carnegie Europe, spoke to five average Europeans inKoice, Sofia, Lille and Athens to find outwhat people really expect from the European Union.

In the aftermath of the eurocrisis, millions of Europeans have turned their back onmainstream parties and backed new Eurosceptic, populist and anti-establishment movements. The growing democraticdisconnect, whichbrought parties likeSyriza, CinqueStelleand Podemos to the fore, is undermining the proper functioning of the European Union.

Intelligence vs stupidity

We have witnessed real turbulence in European politics with some parties disappearing, others sprouting overnight, saidGrabbe. She notedsome of these new parties weretricky, since they have no interest in getting involved in the details of legislation and are mostly absent from legislative debates, like that over thePassenger Name Records Directive.

Instead of emotional intelligence, we risk having plain stupidity, she said.

Europe is paying the price for promising what it cannot deliver. Liberal German MEP Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, speaking at the launch of the study, noted that politicians are to blame for promising lEurope protectrice during political campaigns.

But Europe is not in the business of redistribution, he said, adding that this is a national competence.

The crisis has indeed shifted fundamentals that no government is really able to fully master, simply because the economy is now controlled by global forces. A lot of the blame has gone to the EU. National politicians have found it convenient to blame the EU, but the reason is called globalisation, Grabbe added.

Dimitar, ayoung blogger, Katarina, afactory worker and Alekosm, apensioner, and the other two examplesin the report standing in for the 500 + million citizens have all experienced frustrations with European democracy.

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More 'emotional intelligence' seen as key to restoring trust in the EU