Call for combined stand on Russia

European Commission (EC) Vice President for the Energy Union (EU), Maroš Šefčovič, said that unity between all EU member states was crucial to deal with the energy challenges created by the current conflict with Russia, reports Carmen Pau.

‘What is most important in this respect is that the EU remains united and that all member states have the same common position, support the same approach and implement the sanctions in the same way,’ he told members of the European Parliament during an event organised by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe, held in Brussels.

Trust and solidarity between EU countries are equally important in standing up to Russia, according to Šefčovič. National governments have to be transparent about their bilateral agreements with the country, he maintained.

‘Our member states have sometimes been pushed to sign very long, opaque intergovernmental agreements with limiting provisions in them,’ he said, noting that EU countries should inform each other about this type of contract. ‘We should use the EU political weight in there, since this would increase the countries’ bargaining powers with Russia. This is of utmost importance given that the country has been a less than reliable energy supplier over the past few years than during the Cold War,’ he added.