EU eyes plan to diversify energy but no easy fixes

Published May 28, 2014 3:29pm ET



AMSTERDAM (AP) — The European Union’s executive has proposed a strategy to secure the bloc’s energy supplies — and reduce its reliance on Russia — by seeking new sources in the Caspian Sea, the Mediterranean, and importing more liquefied natural gas, or LNG.

But the plan, which EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger presented Wednesday and will be considered by European leaders at a June 26-27 summit, offers no quick fixes. Europe imports 40 percent of its gas from Russia, half of that via pipelines that run through Ukraine, a situation which would take years of investment to alter.

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