Pipe down

摘要

Gas pipelines export influence as well as energy. Russia's planned South Stream project was the $40 billion flagship of its attempt to regain sway in south-eastern Europe. After the failure of the Brussels-backed Nabucco pipeline from the Caucasus, the Russian plan gained a host of supporters, including traditionally Kremlin-friendly countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Italy and Serbia) as well as Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary, which is now treading its own path under the strong-willed Viktor Orban. Earlier this year South Stream was presenting a challenge to the authority of the European Union. The commission said the plan was illegal: under the rules of the eu's liberalised gas market, a company cannot own both the pipeline and the gas that flows in it. The South Stream countries said they wanted exemptions from that rule.