Countries like Venezuela, Russia and Bolivia have asserted greater state control over their oil or natural gas assets in recent years, in some cases to divert money to issues including education and poverty. Under Chavez, Venezuela has raised royalty and tax rates on foreign oil companies, then later took majority control of all oil projects as part of a larger nationalization drive.
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Addressing another flashpoint in energy relations, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said at a news conference that Europe's trade with Russia, a major energy exporter, can be "a win-win situation" for both sides.
Tensions rose in recent years when Europe saw energy supplies disrupted by disputes between Russia and countries through which energy supplies pass on their way to Germany, Poland and elsewhere.
With oil prices surging near US$100 per barrel, problems persist as the European Union increasingly worries about Russia's use of energy as a political weapon and Moscow frets about an EU plan to curb the country's energy ambitions in the 27-nation bloc.
Under the plan, which still needs approval from national governments and lawmakers, utilities that generate electricity or extract natural gas will have to sell their transmission networks or lease them to independent operators.
This would apply to foreign companies that want to invest in the EU, such as Russia's natural gas monopoly OAO Gazprom, the bloc's single-largest energy supplier.
Viktor Khristenko, Russia's Minister of Industry and Energy warned at the conference that such rules would limit future investment in key European infrastructure such as pipelines and cross-border electricity cables.
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