Deutsche Welle: Ukraine wields natural gas trump card in Brussels
A key question for Ukranian President Viktor Yanukovych during his trip to Brussels on Monday (25.02.2013) for a European Union summit is how the Ukrainian justice system is dealing with opposition politicians. The former Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, continues to sit behind bars. Her punishment was the source of heavy criticism at the last summit between the EU and Ukraine.
However, past EU-Ukrainian meetings have shown restraint on the issue, as in February when the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy, Stefan Füle, visited Kiev. The EU, for example, is fully prepared to assist Ukraine in modernizing its gas pipelines. A pilot project is already under way, with Deutsche Bank and Ferrostal, a manufacturer of processing plants, taking part.
Ukraine's natural gas
Notwithstanding Ukraine's role as the major transport route for Russian natural gas to Europe, there's another Ukraine-related topic that appears to be of far greater interest to both parties. It is related to supplies of shale gas under Ukrainian soil. In order to reduce its dependence on Russian gas deliveries, Ukraine would like to develop its own gas industry with the help of western companies. In January 2013, Kiev signed an agreement with Shell. It is still in billion-dollar negotiations with energy giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron. MORE