Do you want Putin's paw on the pipe? European energy.(The EU worries about energy)

Economist (US), The, January, 2007

The row with Russia shows how much Europe needs to liberalise its energy markets

ENERGY is so important that it must be treated differently. That is the easy and seductive argument of Europe's "national champions"--firms like E.ON of Germany and EDF of France. Only vertically integrated monopolies, they argue, can guarantee secure supply, by investing enough in local grids and capacity, and by using their might to strike advantageous long-term deals with powerful outside suppliers, like Russia.

The European Commission, rightly, sees this argument as not just ...