EU dangles rewards as Russia eyes G8 energy pact

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – As Russia edges toward agreement on energy principles with Group of Eight leaders, the
European Union is offering several rewards: cash, technology and access to a huge consumer market that is hungry for oil and gas.

Moscow has resisted calls to ratify an international treaty that promotes price transparency and free energy transit across the Eurasian continent, but is likely to endorse many of those ideas at the G8 summit of industrialized nations on July 15-17.

So what will Moscow get in return for a step that could lead someday to a loosening of its monopoly on pipelines and clearer rules on investment in its prized energy sector?

“The ‘carrot’ is a big market … for their natural resources,” said one senior EU source. “The reliability of the market is extremely important for them.”

Reuters