'EU needs energy alternatives to Russia'

Helsinki, June 30: Incoming European Union president Finland aims to boost energy cooperation with Russia during its six months in the EU chair while seeking alternative gas supplies, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said today.

Vanhanen, whose country takes over from Austria tomorrow, also said he would try to share Finland's model of economic competitiveness with EU partners, notably by encouraging them to spend more on research and development.

The centrist leader, a strong supporter of EU enlargement, said he would regard it as a personal failure if Turkey's EU accession talks were suspended on his watch because of a crisis over Cyprus.

But he noted that since opening each new chapter in detailed policy negotiations required unanimity of the 25 EU countries, they could be halted by any member state.

The EU will attend three summits with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the next five months focusing mainly on energy security, beginning with the Group of Eight industrialised countries' meeting in St Petersburg in mid-July.

''Of course when discussing about the external dimension of energy security, part of energy security for the EU is that we must in future have alternatives, especially when discussing natural gas,'' said Vanhanen, whose country is 100 percent dependent on Russia for gas supplies.

''We need pipelines from the north, east and south,'' he said, adding that the EU should import more liquefied natural gas to strengthen its security of supply.

He said the EU would pursue closer cooperation with Russia both by launching negotiations for an upgraded partnership agreement at a November summit and by building so-called Northern Dimension cooperation grouping Russia, Norway and Iceland with the EU.

He said he shared the concern of other Baltic Sea states at the potential environmental risks from a major sub-sea gas pipeline under construction between Russia and Germany, and had discussed the issue at a recent Baltic prime ministers' meeting.

Vanhanen said Turkey would be a very difficult issue for his presidency but he believed Ankara realised it had to fulfil its obligations to the EU to progress in negotiations.

''We have opened the first chapter but before we open the second one, we should make a decision in the (EU) council. I think Turkey understands that very well,'' he said.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn warned this week that talks with Ankara could be halted completely if it failed to open its ports and airports to traffic from Cyprus and to speed up political and human rights reforms.

He said he hoped an EU summit in December could reach a new consensus on enlargement that did not set new criteria for candidates and made clear it was up to the existing member states to give themselves the institutional and financial capability to absorb newcomers.

Reuters