Reuters: EU energy boss says joint gas buying would have to be voluntary

European Union nations can only work together to buy natural gas, as part of efforts to reduce Russia's negotiating power, on a voluntary basis, the EU's energy boss said on Monday.

The idea that EU countries could join forces to try to negotiate more favourable gas contracts with Russia's Gazprom was put forward last year by Poland's then prime minister Donald Tusk.

Tusk has since taken up an EU job as president of the European Council.

On a visit to Warsaw, Maros Sefcovic, a vice-president in the European Commission, said many west European countries were opposed to the idea of working as a single EU gas buyer because they believed it breached competition and free-market rules.

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