Bucharest -- U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar today called on European leaders to act on energy security at the September 1 emergency EU summit on the Georgian crisis called by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. 

 

“The conflict in Georgia cannot be separated from Europe’s dangerous dependence on natural gas from Russia. In fact, the conflict in Georgia makes it all the more important for European leaders to act on energy security. Commitment to energy diversification, including new pipelines circumventing Russian soil, is essential to the security of our European allies,” Lugar said.

 

“Europe must commit to construction of the critical Nabucco gas pipeline. Nabucco is intended to be the final link connecting Caspian energy resources with European consumers, but it is being challenged by the Russian-backed alternatives. Numerous NATO and EU member states have attempted to make the Nabucco pipeline a reality. I praise the interest in each of the countries that I have visited this week. Unfortunately, their efforts have been stymied. Reluctant European governments must be convinced that alternative supplies are in their long-term security interests. Failure to complete the Nabucco pipeline would be significant blow to European security, and challenge unity in the trans-Atlantic community,” Lugar said.

 

Lugar has visited with government and energy leaders in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Romania. Over the next week he will have similar meetings in Hungary, Ukraine, Germany and with EU and NATO officials in Brussels.

 

“Diversifying energy transit routes from Central Asia to Europe is a critical initial step in formulating a credible trans-Atlantic energy security strategy that diversifies energy sources for all Europe, establishes a collective framework to work with Russia, and refuses to tolerate the use of energy as an instrument of coercion,” Lugar said. 

 

“The energy challenge can seem daunting. Last week in meetings at the International Energy Agency in Paris, officials pointed to the reality that world demand for energy will continue to surge. In fact, IEA analysis projects a 50 percent increase in world energy needs between now and 2030. There is no guarantee that necessary oil and natural resources will be made available, whether due to geological limitations, lack of sufficient investment by state-owned companies, or because of political interference in supply decisions.

 

“The United States uses more energy than any other country. Recent gains in American energy efficiency, as well as those in Europe, however, are being more than offset by surging demand in emerging economies, particularly China and India. At the same time, without radical changes in the way we generate and use energy, oil and natural gas rich countries’ influence will increase in political, economic, and in some cases, military spheres. The regrettable reality is that some of these countries will use their newfound influence against U.S. and EU strategic interests.

 

“In my view, the trans-Atlantic community now stands at a critical decision point that demands a collective energy security strategy. Two years ago at the NATO summit in Riga, I encouraged the Alliance to make energy security an Article V commitment in which a member experiencing a deliberate energy disruption would receive assistance from other alliance members. I argued that a natural gas shutdown experienced by a European country in the middle of winter could cause death and economic loss on the scale of a military attack. Such circumstances are made more dangerous by the prospects that nations might become desperate, increasing the chances of armed conflict and terrorism,” Lugar said. 

 

“In the two years since the Riga summit, discussion of energy security has increased. Yet while several NATO and EU members have pursued a unified European energy strategy, others have frustrated that process by moving away from European unity. Bilateral deals with Germany to construct the Nord Stream pipeline and with Italy’s ENI to construct the South Stream pipeline will reduce Russia’s dependence on current transit countries while also blunting the economic position of non-Russian alternative pipelines like Nabucco. Russia has recently inked pipeline agreements with Greece, Bulgaria, and Hungary. Such deals are being made from positions of weakness. European governments – particularly former Soviet and Warsaw Pact states located in what the Kremlin calls its ‘sphere of influence’ – are being pressured to surrender majority shares of national refineries and energy transportation systems.

 

Lugar said the energy consuming nations of Europe must meet to advance their energy security alternatives. “The Kremlin and Gazprom have shut off energy supplies to six different countries during the last several years, most recently to the Czech Republic. These energy cutoffs were efforts at Russian intimidation and demonstrate the willingness of Russia to use its commanding energy export position to back its demands for foreign policy or economic policy concessions. The events this month in Georgia have not only focused attention on the need for energy diversification but also for European unity in discussing it,” Lugar said.

A schedule of Lugar’s mission and an April speech on Nabucco and European energy can be found at: www.lugar.senate.gov/energy.

 

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