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OO RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR
RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVI #0041 0051716
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 051716Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1995
INFO RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS VIENNA 000041 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOC PASS TO OITA 
USDOC FOR 4212/MAC/EUR/OWE 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/RUS, EUR/UMB, EUR/ERA, EUR/AGS, EB/ESC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN ENRG EPET PREL PGOV AU
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN EU PRESIDENCY UPS THE ANTE ON ENERGY 
AFTER RUSSIA-UKRAINE SPAT 
 
 
This message is sensitive but unclassified. 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: In response to the dispute over natural 
gas supplies between Ukraine and Russia, Austrian 
officials have given new weight to their plan of making 
energy a focal point of Austria's EU presidency. 
Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said in a public 
statement that the EU would discuss energy at many 
different levels during the EU presidency, including the 
spring European Council Summit.  On January 3, the Chief 
of Staff to the Economics Minister told Charge and 
Econ/Pol Counselor that the EU would approach the topic 
from the perspective of the security of supply to both 
the EU and Ukraine.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Plassnik praised the agreement between Russia and 
Ukraine, saying that it reflected their recognition of 
an obligation to Europe's energy supply. 
 
¶3. (SBU) In his January 3 meeting with the Charge and 
Econ/Pol Counselor, Martin Eichtinger, Chief of Staff to 
Economics Minister Bartenstein, stressed that energy -- 
which is already on the agenda for the European Council 
summit -- would now be an even more urgent matter, with 
multiple discussions leading up to the spring summit. 
The European Commission's Coordination Group on Gas met 
in Brussels January 4 (much earlier than originally 
scheduled) to discuss strategies to secure Europe's 
energy supply, with representatives from both the 
Ukraine and Russia attending.  In a press statement 
after the meeting, Bartenstein -- who opened the meeting 
-- and Andris Piebalgs, EU Energy Commissioner, said 
that the key lesson learned in the past week was the 
need to develop a coordinated energy policy. 
 
¶4. (U) Bartenstein said in a press interview January 4 
that the EU would focus on both supply safety and 
investment security.  Bartenstein pointed to Europe's 
heavy dependency on Russian gas through only one supply 
pipeline as an example of the urgency of the situation. 
All Russian gas supplies to western Europe pass through 
the distribution center at Baumgarten, on the Austrian- 
Slovak border.  Bartenstein noted the planned gas 
pipeline Nabucco, which would deliver gas from Central 
Asia to Europe as one medium-term solution. Energy 
efficiency and alternative energies were other 
possibilities Bartenstein cited. 
 
¶5. (U) Embassy translation of Foreign Minister 
Plassnik's press release from January 4, 2006: 
 
Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik welcomes the agreement 
between Gazprom and the Ukrainian energy provider 
Naftogas that was reached last night. 
 
"The situation was difficult, but the two companies have 
come to a joint solution. Russia and Ukraine have shown 
that they are aware of their obligation to Europe's 
energy supply", Plassnik said. 
 
Recent developments have shown everybody how closely 
connected the European continent is in its energy 
supply. All European countries share an interest in 
reaching common solutions and concepts to ensure a 
sustainable protection of their energy interests," 
Plassnik emphasized. 
 
"The EU will be dealing with the energy issue during the 
Austria Presidency extensively on different levels. For 
example, we will be drafting an expert report for the 
heads of government on the occasion of spring summit. A 
high-ranking Austrian expert, OMV CEO Wolfgang 
Ruttenstorfer will be contributing to this report", the 
Foreign Minister said. (End press release) 
 
¶6. (SBU) Embassy will report septel on the role the 
Austrian company Raiffeisen Investment AG played in the 
Russian-Ukrainian gas deal 
 
KILNER