Rusland moet zijn focus weer leggen op de binnenlandse energielevering aldus Rusland's vrije markt goeroe Anatoly Chubais(en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Anatoly Chubais, architect of Russia's 1990s privatisation programme, has suggested that Moscow should re-channel its focus on feeding energy into European grids to serving its domestic market.

"I think that, in strategic terms, our priorities should not be Europe or China," Mr Chubais said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Sunday (18 May).

He underlined that rising energy demand in Russia should not be overshadowed by its ambition to export to Western markets.

"We have this western stream, northern stream, south stream. What I believe we need is a Russian stream. The Russian domestic demand is growing a lot. I think that Russia needs to restructure its strategy in this sector," said the man responsible for the liberalisation of the country's electricity sector.

Mr Chubais specifically referred to Gazprom, Russia's state-run gas monopoly.

For the EU, Russia is the single most important external supplier of energy, with a quarter of the bloc's gas as well as quarter of its oil originating from the country. Brussels expects this dependency to increase still further, as the EU will need to import a full 70 percent of its energy needs by 2030.

In the face of the sharply rising dependence, the EU bloc has been pushing for a greater diversification of its energy supplies.

Controversial 'Gazprom clause'

Mr Chubais' comments come at the same time that the 27-nation bloc is discussing a highly controversial set of restrictive measures on foreign energy bidders - something known as the 'Gazprom clause' within the corridors of Brussels' institutions.

The measures are part of a far-reaching reform of the EU's energy sector that was tabled by the European Commission last September.

The reform suggests that production and transmission channels of energy companies be spun off into separate companies; that foreign bidders should be prevented from expanding into the 27-nation energy market without limit; and that countries beyond the EU should provide European companies with the same access to their markets that the EU provides to them.

According to the draft legislation, the EU transmission network "shall not be controlled by a person or persons from [countries beyond the EU]", unless there is an agreement between the EU bloc and the companies' country of origin.

In addition, foreign buyers who wish to purchase an EU network should be able to prove that they are not "influenced ... directly or indirectly by any operator active in the production or supply of gas or electricity or by a [country beyond the EU]".

This essentially requires that they would have to adhere to the same unbundling requirements - asset break-up between production and supply wings - as the European Union's own firms. Brussels says that this is needed to guarantee fair competition between foreign and home-grown companies.

But Russia's Anatoly Chubais criticised such plans by saying: "For Europeans to limit participation in the European market is strategically unreasonable."

"The only result is an increase of gas prices in Europe. If I were the European Commission, I would support as many suppliers as possible."