ANALYSIS-Rights demands weigh on German energy security drive
Source: Reuters
By David Brunnstrom BRUSSELS, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Germany, trying to forge an EU energy policy in its six-month presidency of the bloc, is eager to secure supplies from authoritarian Central Asian states but under pressure to push them to improve their rights records. Rights activists see Berlin's policy as one of "realpolitik" harking back to 19th century Chancellor Otto von Bismarck's concept of diplomacy driven by interests, not idealism. They worry that the European Union's thirst for oil and gas may lead it to sacrifice the promotion of human rights and good governance. But some analysts say the EU should be able both to secure energy supplies and push for better recognition of human rights in such states. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told the European Parliament last November that an "unprincipled" scramble for energy could impinge on long-cherished objectives because resources were located in areas with authoritarian regimes. The European Union gets about 25 percent of its oil and gas from Russia and concern about Moscow's reliability as a supplier came to the fore this week when it cut oil flows to Belarus, a key transit route, a year after a similar dispute disrupted gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine. Such worries have pushed energy to the top of the EU agenda and the executive European Commission issued its first comprehensive energy strategy policy paper on Wednesday. Germany plans to use its presidency to formulate the first EU strategy for Central Asia, where Russia, China and the United States are already engaged in a 21st century "Great Game" for energy resources -- and the Europeans are largely absent. Berlin contends that engagement is the best way to promote rights, but activists were concerned when it argued successfully against toughening sanctions on Uzbekistan last year and lobbied -- inconclusively -- for Kazakhstan to take the helm of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2009. "There is no doubt energy tops the German agenda -- not the rule of law, not human rights, which is very unfortunate," said Lotte Leicht, Brussels director of Human Rights Watch. ENERGY AND RIGHTS Rights groups point to Germany's traditional "softly softly" approach to Moscow and efforts to reduce reliance on Russian supplies by boosting ties with Central Asian states with sizeable energy resources but often poor human rights records. "We have not seen any evidence that when you do get tough on rights it has had a negative impact on a country's ability or willingness to supply Europe with energy," Leicht said. Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform in London, said it was important to engage with Central Asia and give priority to energy security. "If we build our strategy saying, 'oh, you're so ghastly we don't want to deal with you', that would obviously be the wrong starting point. The region would just turn away," she said. But Barysch said she saw no contradiction between promoting democratic accountability and human rights and energy security -- and Belarus was a clear case in point. "It seems that dodgy, unaccountable regimes that have their backs to the wall are more likely to react in an unpredictable manner than, let's say, democratic countries with which you can build long-term relationships," she said. "So maybe it shows we need to push for better governance in Central Asia in the name of energy security." Analysts say Germany will not find it easy to persuade all its 26 EU partners to follow an "interest-driven" policy, as Scandinavian states are traditionally vocal on human rights and Britain opposes any easing of Uzbek sanctions. "The rights records of some of these regimes is so appalling it will be quite difficult to get an EU consensus to start cosying up to them," said Fraser Cameron, senior foreign policy adviser at the European Policy Centre. "It's the old question of interests against values in foreign policy." Charles Esser, energy analyst at the International Crisis Group, said wooing Central Asia would not reduce EU dependency on Russia for a long time. Even if a Trans-Caspian pipeline was built, a majority of gas from the region would still have to come through Russia. "Whether or not Europe cosies up to the Uzbek regime or continues sanctions, Uzbekistan is going to continue to export gas to Russia -- whether or not there is a focus on human rights. So why not focus on that?" Barysch said Chancellor Angela Merkel had been more critical of Russia than past German leaders, and Germany should not allow its perception of energy dependency to dictate policy towards Moscow. "That dependency is entirely mutual and Germany is capable of taking a stronger view," she said.
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