The gas crisis in January 2009 has also had positive effects, head of the Representation of the European Commission in Slovakia Andrea Elschekova-Matisova said at a conference entitled "Common European Union Energy Policy and Slovak Energy Security".

"Everybody experienced what 98-percent dependence on one supplier means," said Elschekova-Matisova. According to her, the state of emergency led to impossible solutions becoming possible. The reverse-flow supply of natural gas from the Czech Republic was a great example of European regional solidarity. It also supports the inter-connection of energy transmission systems of EU countries financially.

Supplies of natural gas from Russia to Slovakia were disrupted for two weeks in January due to a commercial-political dispute between Russia and Ukraine. The Slovak Government was forced to introduce emergency limitations on major customers, with almost 1,000 Slovak factories having to halt production. It is thought that the Slovak economy lost hundreds of millions of euros due to the gas crisis.

(TASR, Illustration Photo)