Cheney’s speech will deepen divisions in Europe over energy

On her second visit to the US in four months, Merkel assured Bush that the disagreements with her predecessor, Gerhard Schröder, over the Iraq war are a thing of the past. Bush sought and got Merkel’s backing over Iran, and the US president is to visit Germany in the near future.

While these talks were in progress, however, Cheney was delivering a provocative speech attacking Russia over restrictions on democratic rights and its use of oil and gas as “tools of intimidation and blackmail.” Cheney was referring to Gazprom temporarily turning off supplies to Ukraine in January of this year to enforce a price increase, resulting in shortages throughout the European Union, which receives a quarter of its gas from Russia.

The supply shutoff was followed by a speech last month by Gazprom chief Alexei Miller to 25 EU ambassadors in which he threatened to switch gas sales to China if Gazprom’s investment interests in Europe were restricted.

Cheney’s intervention in European politics can only exacerbate the divisions between European governments over energy policy and make life increasingly difficult for Merkel, who is attempting to build a close alliance with both Moscow and Washington.

Only last month, the German government endorsed the €1 billion ($825 million) credit guarantee made by former chancellor Schröder for the North European Gas Pipeline Company (NEPGC), of which he is now chairman. The pipeline will go directly from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, bypassing Ukraine, Poland and Belarus.

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