Central and Eastern Europe should be connected with the Adriatic and the Black Sea regions with new North-South energy links, dpa quoted the European Union's executive as saying on Thursday. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he would unveil the proposal later on Thursday at dinner in Brussels with prime ministers from Romania, Bulgaria and the Visegrad Group - made up of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. "The North-South initiative will connect and integrate the power sources of the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Sea, ensure the free and diversified flow of energy within Central and Eastern Europe and thus enhance the economic security of the region and of our Union as a whole," he said in a statement. The new links would reduce CEE countries' dependence on energy imports from Russia - a key strategic objective for most governments in the region. Barroso said the commission would set up an expert panel to draw up "deadlines for North-South interconnections for gas, oil and electricity," with an aim to have EU states endorse the plans in the second half of 2011. -- SPA
