WASHINGTON -- When Gazprom, Russia's natural-gas monopoly, cut off supplies to Ukraine and Georgia in January 2006, the move was widely seen as a clear warning of the Kremlin's willingness to use its energy resources to exert political influence over Europe.
Twelve months later, Russia drummed home the significance of that act by shutting off oil supplies to Belarus for three days, causing a ripple effect on shipments to Western Europe.
Despite these supply-side threats, there have been few signs of an effective European Union-wide policy that would reduce dependence on Russian energy. The European Commission's energy proposals, issued in January, are a step in the right direction, but they will have little direct effect on Russia's energy relations with Europe, because they do not oblige Russia to adopt more competitive and transparent energy transport and investment policies.