Russia’s gas giant Gazprom regards as uneconomical and environmentally inefficient the EU leadership’s stake on subsidized costly sources of renewable energy. A statement to that was voiced by Gazprom’s deputy CEO, general director of Gazprom Export, Alexander Medvedev, at a news conference on Tuesday.

In formulating its export policies Gazprom has to take into account the EU’s emphasis on subsidized expensive renewable energy sources, which are being promoted regardless of the economic factors, effectiveness, or sound alternatives, he said. "The purpose of this course is a noble one – a reduction of the negative anthropogenic influences on climate and environment."

"We do share the wish to have a clean environment, but we believe that natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel and that it can make a significant contribution to its achievement," said Medvedev. "Increasing the share of natural gas in the EU’s energy mix by a tiny 1 percent would reduce the percentage of carbon dioxide emissions by three percent. Replacing every second coal-fuelled power plant with a modern combined-cycle plant will largely resolve the task of cutting carbon dioxide emissions in the EU by 2020. This way will be far less costly than that of renewable sources," he stressed.

Medvedev also urged the media "to imagine how painful for the current budgets of the European countries the introduction of subsidized renewable energy sources might prove."

"We are not against renewable sources, we are for fair competition in which economic feasibility and environmental effectiveness will determine the development of generation, and not planning by decree in line with the worst traditions of the controlled planned economy," said Alexander Medvedev.

top enlargement official calls on Turkey to speed up momentum in accession talks
ISTANBUL, June 23. (A.A). European Union's chief official for enlargement on Wednesday urged EU-hopeful Turkey to "speed up momentum" in its accession negotiations, saying that the country had made significant reforms until now.

"Turkey has passed some impressive reforms but its needs a stronger momentum at a time when the accession talks take a turn for a more demanding period," Fuele told a summit meeting of the Heads of State and Government of the Southeast European Cooperation Process (SEECP) in Istanbul.

Fuele said Europe and Turkey cooperated in many fields such as trade, investment, energy, foreign policy, culture and education which he said served in the interests of both Turkey and the EU.

"The Union is about to focus on the enlargement again in a very long time. We believe that Turkey would extend the necessary support to the negotiations process, which would also help take important steps to find a solution to the Cyprus issue under the supervision of the United Nations," Fuele said.