Czechs say energy security key EU presidency goal

PRAGUE, Jan 6 - The Russia-Ukraine gas row shows the European Union needs a long-term energy security strategy, the Czech Republic said on Tuesday, making the issue one of its main tasks in its six-month stint as EU president.

Apart from issues like the war in Gaza, the EU presidency's focus will be on the global economic crisis, although Prague remained cool towards large fiscal stimulus packages endorsed by some EU states, a government minister said.

The Czechs, who have not yet ratified the EU's Lisbon Treaty, have a wobbly minority government and an openly eurosceptic president. They face some mistrust among EU partners after taking over the EU leadership from France on Jan. 1.

The energy focus aims to boost the bloc's energy security by having more diverse supplies, and Prague plans to discuss the issue at the spring EU summit in Brussels.

"The main issue is to find out what demand for energy commodities there is in Europe, because that is an area that requires certain long-term strategic planning," said Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Alexandr Vondra.

"The current situation regarding gas only confirms this," he told a news conference, presenting the country's EU agenda.

The Czech EU presidency and the European Commission called on Tuesday for an immediate resumption of gas supplies from Russia, hit by a row between Moscow and Kiev.

"Drastically curbing deliveries this way is no solution to business disputes. It is impossible to hold other countries hostage," Vondra said.

He said one option was to look to supply and transit states around the Caspian Sea and central Asia, among others. The Czech Republic, a central European country of 10.4 million, is pushing for movement on a plan to build the Nabucco pipeline, meant to bring gas from central Asia via Turkey.

Prague also wants to help tackle the global financial crisis while also making sure the EU does not give up on structural reforms, Vondra said, a tough task amid plans by some European governments to raise spending to stave off recession.

The Czechs have been hit less hard than others, having suffered no bank collapses and opposing generous deposit insurance schemes. They have been wary of any large fiscal injections and say measures must be short-term and targeted.

"It would be bad if, as a price for short-term measures, we give up on structural reforms that -- from the medium and long term perspective -- can ensure that the old continent succeeds in global competition," Vondra said.

The former member of the Soviet bloc also aims to boost relations within eastern Europe through an Eastern Partnership, similar to the French-led Mediterranean Union.