Russia's energy minister Monday said European Union proposals to curb
Russia's energy ambitions would affect future investment in E.U. energy
infrastructure projects.
Under an E.U. plan - which still needs approval from
national governments and lawmakers - utilities that generate
electricity or extract natural gas will have to sell their transmission
networks or lease them to independent operators. This would apply to
foreign companies that want to invest in the E.U.
The planned rules make it all but impossible for companies
such as Russia's natural gas monopoly OAO Gazprom, the E.U.'s
single-largest energy supplier, to control downstream network assets in
the bloc.
Speaking at the World Energy Congress in Rome, Viktor
Khristenko, Minister of Industry and Energy said such rules would limit
future investment in key European infrastructure such as pipelines and
cross-border electricity cables.