VOA常速英语2007-Winter on the Way, Europeans Worry Russian Could

By Nina Maria Potts
Moscow
26 October 2007
 

Winter is coming to Europe, and across this continent of half a billion people, citizens are turning on their heating. Every radiator¹ turned on in the European Union is a reminder² of this fact: one quarter of the EU's gas needs are supplied by one foreign company alone: Russia's state-controlled Gazprom.
The Pew Research Center recently reported the majority of western Europeans distrust President Vladimir Putin, and are concerned about overdependence on Russian energy. Nina-Maria Potts reports.

Russia has been supplying Europe with energy for decades, and despite ideological³ differences, has been a reliable source of energy.

But recent tensions over a range of other issues, including human rights, have sparked jitters⁴ over Russia's long-term dependability -- especially as the EU has dwindling⁵ oil and gas reserves of its own.

And two winters ago Russia turned off gas supplies to Ukraine in a dispute that briefly⁶ disrupted flows to Europe.

But when Gazprom threatened to do the same again this autumn, there was one key difference: Moscow sent reassurances⁷ that Europe's energy supplies would not suffer.

European Commission energy spokesman Ferran Taradellas Espuny says Russia now takes the market it is supplying into consideration. "We are the main consumers of Russia as a supplier and of Ukraine as a transit⁸ country, so we have the right to know what is going on, if this is going to affect our security of supply, I think now they have learned the lesson."

Still, though energy continues to flow, Europe's relations with Russia face new pressures.

The radiation poisoning death of the former Russian KGB agent, Alexander Litvinenko, on British soil, shocked many Europeans.

As did the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, well-known for her criticism of the Kremlin. Senior EU officials are outraged⁹ over the failure of Russian investigators¹⁰ to convict anyone in the case.

The International Crisis Group's Alain Deletroz, says new EU leaders, such as Angela Merkel of Germany, may prove more inclined to take a tougher line with Russia. "Towards Russia you see also a tendency to be very polite all the time, to be taking aggressive political statements without really answering, but this might be changing now and we see this change happening with Mrs. Merkel."

Vladimir Chizhov is Russia's ambassador to the EU. He dismisses the notion that the Litvinenko and Politkovskaya deaths have overshadowed relations. "Well, let's first separate the real issues from the artificial ones. The latter category, among those you mentioned, is the Litvinenko case, the Politkovskaya case, those are artificial irritants rather than real."

The EU, often divided over how to tackle an aggressive Russia, talks of the need to speak with one voice, especially over energy. Brussels wants to secure and diversify¹¹ Europe's energy sources, and strengthen Europe's own energy market by breaking up monopolizing¹² energy giants.

The European Commission says that if foreign investors¹³ want to enter Europe's energy market then European companies must also be allowed the same access in Russia and other countries.

Gazprom opposed the proposal, before both sides agreed to review its implications.

Commission spokesman Ferran Taradellas Espuny says, "It's a Russian company under Russian law, the only thing we can do is to ask foreign companies, Sonatrach, Gazprom, Statoil, whatever, that want to come into our market, to respect exactly the same rules that we do."

EU efforts to speak with a single voice have long been undercut by the eagerness of many EU governments to cut bilateral¹⁴ energy deals with Russia.

There were particular concerns over a German deal with Gazprom to build an undersea pipeline¹⁵ pumping gas from Russia to Germany, bypassing Poland. And Russia's failure to ratify¹⁶ a key energy charter treaty, contributes to European concerns over its long-term reliability¹⁷.

Ambassador Vladimir Chizhov argues every energy player is both a partner and competitor. "Some people, in Europe, in the United States as well, they might see Russia more as a partner than a competitor. There are others perhaps who see Russia more as a competitor, than a partner. It's dialectics. Objectively speaking, Russia is both, so is Europe -- the European Union for Russia."

Still, EU officials are keeping a close eye on President Vladimir Putin's next move, especially in the run-up to the Russian elections.

And amidst talk of a possible new Cold War era, Europeans are relying on Russia not to turn their heating off.

1 radiator   

n.暖气片，散热器

参考例句：

• The two ends of the pipeline are connected with the radiator.管道的两端与暖气片相连接。
• Top up the radiator before making a long journey.在长途旅行前加满散热器。

2 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

3 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

4 jitters   

n.pl.紧张(通常前面要有the)

参考例句：

• I always get the jitters before exams. 我考试前总是很紧张。
• The whole city had the jitters from the bombing. 全城居民都为轰炸而心神不宁。

5 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

6 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

7 reassurances   

n.消除恐惧或疑虑( reassurance的名词复数 )；恢复信心；使人消除恐惧或疑虑的事物；使人恢复信心的事物

参考例句：

• We have had some reassurances from the council that the building will be saved. 理事会保证会保留那座建筑，这使我们得到了些许安慰。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Everybody's reassurances have encouraged me. 大家的勉励鼓舞了我。 来自辞典例句

8 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

9 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

10 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

12 monopolizing   

v.垄断( monopolize的现在分词 )；独占；专卖；专营

参考例句：

• United States antitrust legislation prohibits corporations from dominating or monopolizing an industry. 美国反托拉斯法禁止公司控制或垄断一项工业。 来自辞典例句
• Only nobody else must be kind to him: I'm jealous of monopolizing his affection. 可就是用不着别人对他慈爱：我一心要独占他的感情。 来自辞典例句

13 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

14 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

15 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

16 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

17 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。