Final Word from Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Czech and Hungarian officials have said they don't want their strategic companies controlled by Russia but, as Sean Carney noted in the Wall Street Journal, both ČEZ and MOL are already working closely with Russian companies to expand. A large percentage of ČEZ's installed and future production capacity, whether nuclear or gas-fired, is dependent on Russian suppliers. Deepak Chopra, an Indian wellness guru, uses the Buddhistic concept of interdependent co-arising to refer to such mutual relationships. China holds huge sums of money in the U.S., he says, but it can't pull the money out, because both sides would suffer. It's similar with ČEZ and the Russians. Despite the political talk of the need for energy independence, ČEZ is being locked into a mutually dependent relationship that can't easily be unwound. The only real question is whether this is coincidental or intentional.[Czech Republic Hungary natural gas power]