Press Release: The EU and Russia reinforce the Early Warning Mechanism to improve prevention and management in case of an energy crisis

As agreed by the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso and the President of the Russian Federation Dimitri Medvedev during the last EU-Russia Summit in Khabarovsk, the EU and Russia strengthened the current dispositions under the EU-Russia Energy Dialogue to prevent and manage potential energy crises, with an enhanced Early Warning Mechanism. On 16 November 2009 Energy Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, and the Russian Minister for Energy, Sergei Shmatko, signed in Moscow the Memorandum on an Early Warning Mechanism that includes a clear definition of the circumstances that would trigger the activation of the mechanism, in terms of what constitutes a 'significant disruption of supplies', be it due to maintenance of relevant infrastructure, accidents, or commercial disputes. On the same occasion, both parties also signed the 10th progress report of the EU-Russia Energy Dialogue.