Final Word from Tuesday, January 3, 2006
Jiří Paroubek and Mirek Topolánek managed to get through an entire debate on Sun. without mentioning the natural-gas crisis in Ukraine. By yesterday, though, Paroubek was assuring Czechs that all is well. It probably is for now, but Russia has stated that its foreign policy will hinge on energy exports. The CR's gas imports from Russia are assured until 2013, when RWE Transgas's contracts expire, but what then? Might Gazprom, under Chairman Vladimir Putin, use its leverage to buy Transgas with Gerhard Schröder's help, or might it slow the flow of gas so that it can boost deliveries to China? There's a general feeling that the CR has extricated itself from Russia's sphere of influence, but its 70%-dependence on Russian gas and the rise of GTS Novera as a threat to Český Telecom and the mobile operators tend to negate this somewhat. The ground actually seems to be firming for an increase in Russian influence over Czech business and politics. [Czech Republic telecommunications telecoms Germany]