Moscow’s drivers also queue for petrol

Press, 12 July 1979, Page 16

Moscow’s drivers also queue for petrol

By

PETER RISTIC

in Belgrade

Eastern Europe is n.o less caught up in the world energy crisis than the West, a fact brought home by the way energy matters dominated discussions at Comecon (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance) in Moscow late last month. The Comecon meeting, held as O.P.E.C. members were haggling over new prices for oil in Geneva and the seven industrial nations were thrashing out energy conservation targets in Tokyo, reminded all Eastern European nations that energy reserves are limited. Cars have been queueing for petrol in Moscow, driving curbs are in force or under discussion in several Soviet bloc countries, and the press throughout Eastern Europe daily describes the need for conservation. The current crisis — made only a little worse by the oil shortage in the West — comes after months of difficulties. Throughout the (northern) winter there were reports of power cuts and the southern Soviet Union was particularly badly hit by the loss of natural gas from Iran. Although the Soviet Union supplies its satellites with oil at 25 per cent below world prices, all the Iron Curtain countries have been announcing heavy cost increases.

Rumania is the latest with a 40 per cent rise in the price of petrol. The Soviet Premier, Mr Kosygin, claimed last month that Eastern Europe was in a better energy situation than the West, but admitted that there are long-term difficulties; oil and gas reserves will run .out in 20 — or at the very latest — 50 years, and Moscow needs Western help to bring in new fields. Supplies of Soviet oil are already stretched to the limit and Hungary and Bulgaria were warned months ago that they must look to other markets for increases in supplies. Moscow even raised an international loan this year to finance Comecon members’ imports of oil from outside the region. This gives the United States considerable leverage over the Soviet Union — a fact the Soviets were reminded of by the Carter Administration a year ago, when oil equipment technology was put on the list of strategic items and some export deals were held up. The energy crisis has the potential for causing more difficulties to the Governments of Eastern Europe than those of the West. The car, now within the grasp of most families, is the most

sought after consumer item in the East, and the problem of unsatisfied internal demand will be aggravated by the energy shortage. Comecon’s meeting in Moscow made it clear that

the Kremlin sees nuclear energy as the only long-term way out of the region’s problems. Moscow is supplying equipment for plants in East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Bul-

garia, as well as for its own extensive nuclear programme. The move to nuclear energy — and the output of nuclear energy is up to 25 per cent in the Soviet Union

alone this vear — will have the result of strengthening the economic ties between the Comecon members, for only the Soviet Union has the' technology. 0.F.N.5., Copyright.