Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-10-21-Speech-2-320"
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"en.20081021.39.2-320"2
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"Mr President, the EU Member States have, by way of reaction to the unilateral territorial division of Georgia under Russian supervision, not closed ranks. Once again, we have not seen any evidence of a joint, let alone firm, European response to the Kremlin’s power machinations. The crucial question therefore remains: what does the Union mean by a strategic partnership with the Russian Federation? In other words, is Moscow really an indispensable partner for Brussels, or am I touching a political nerve in Europe by saying this?
After all, the fact of the matter is that Russia has, to date, sabotaged an effective international answer to the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programmes. At the same time, Moscow has not exactly shown itself to be an indispensable partner in the bloody fight against Islamic terrorism, for example on the Afghan front, either.
Only in the area of energy do the cold numbers suggest there is probably a strategic, even indispensable, partnership between the European Union and Russia: today, the 27 EU Member States rely on Russian oil and gas exports to a level of about 70%. For its own good, though, the EU should run down this considerable dependence as quickly as possible. After all, Moscow admits that its energy reserves will be exhausted in 10 to 15 years’ time.
Council and Commission, where is your strategy of energy diversification now? Surely the new Turkmen discovery of gas should galvanise you into action."@en1
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