World Bulletin: Czechs not backing single EU body for gas, oil purchases

The Czech Republic opposes a Polish proposal to create a single body to buy gas for the European Union but could support private groups voluntarily joining up for purchases, according to a position document approved by the government on Wednesday.

Central European countries are vulnerable to any interruption in supplies because they take most of their natural gas from Russia, mainly via Ukraine.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called for the EU to create an energy union because the current dependence on Russian energy makes Europe weak. He said on Wednesday Europe's failure to complete a single energy market and to unite when negotiating gas contracts with Russia costs around 30 billion euros ($41 billion) per year.

"The government approved our position on that proposal, which says we support our Polish colleagues on many issues, but there are many that we have to look at a bit more," state secretary for EU affairs Tomas Prouza told the Czech radio.
MORE