Brown calls for EU unity over Russia
LONDON, England (AP) — European countries should adopt a united energy policy to avoid becoming too dependent on Russia, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in an article published Sunday.
Brown said European Union nations should use our collective bargaining power rather than seek separate energy deals with Russia.
Without urgent action we risk sleepwalking into an energy dependance on less stable or reliable partners, Brown wrote in The Observer newspaper.
Russia’s military campaign against neighbor Georgia this month — and its continuing presence there in defiance of international opinion — has alarmed European leaders with the prospect of a newly assertive Moscow.
Russia supplies the EU with about a third of its oil and about two-fifths of its natural gas, and can literally turn off the tap if it chooses.
