A 2,000-mile pipeline envisioned as a way to lessen Western Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas is being threatened by escalating costs, missed deadlines and uncertain supply.
The project, known as Nabucco, is behind schedule, with a start date expected to be pushed back from next year to 2010. Recent reports indicate that the cost of [...]

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As the economic mood darkens, Britain’s wealth generators are moving abroad. So where exactly is everybody heading, asks Terry Kirby
The exodus is accelerating faster than house prices are falling. Refusing to risk their livelihoods on our spluttering financial situation, or have their spirits crushed by fear of rising crime, a new swath of high-flyers, [...]

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The European Union cannot agree over how to deal with Russia. That suits the Kremlin just fine
SEEN from outside, one might imagine that the European Union (population 495m, GDP of $16.8 trillion) was a rather intimidating neighbour for Russia (population 142m, GDP of $1.3 trillion). Yet the reality is the other way round. In recent [...]

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Even as Russia works to increase Europe’s dependence on it for oil and natural gas shipments, Europe is bickering with Turkey about fees for a pipeline that could be an alternative to the Kremlin option.
Over the past few months, Gazprom has been exceptionally active in the Balkans where the European Union and Russia are competing [...]

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The agreements signed on January 18 in Sofia in President Vladimir Putin’s presence pave the way for Bulgaria’s inclusion in Russia’s expanding energy networks. From President Giorgi Parvanov and Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev on down, Bulgarian officials are hailing this set of agreements as the only available strategic option for their country. This assessment amounts [...]

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SOFIA, Bulgaria — Russia strengthened its grip on Europe’s energy supplies on Friday as it signed a major gas deal with Bulgaria that analysts said would further undermine the European Union’s attempts to diversify its energy sources.
Under the agreement, the $15 billion South Stream pipeline will be built under the Black Sea, allowing Russia to [...]

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Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to push this week for the construction of a web of pipelines that would cement Europe’s dependence on Russia’s energy supplies.
The Kremlin has proposed making this former Soviet satellite [Bulgaria] a gateway for a major new natural gas pipeline, called South Stream, which could branch off in several directions, [...]

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MOSCOW. Sept 19 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Defense Ministry is seriously concerned by the proposed location of U.S. bases in Bulgaria and Romania, Maj. Gen. Vladimir Nikishin, a representative of the Defense Ministry’s Main International Military Cooperation Department, said on Wednesday.
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The USS Forest Sherman, a guided missile destroyer of the Sixth Fleet, visited the Bulgarian port of Varna in early August and carried out joint naval exercises with the Bulgarian navy. This event would normally be seen as routine. However, the announcement of an American troop deployment to a number of Bulgarian military facilities (as [...]

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