Collateral damage: Eastern Europe's victims of trade disputes
08-Jan-2010
(Image credit: BBC website)
Energy supplies to central Europe could
be disrupted again this winter after Russia cut oil deliveries to neighbouring
Belarus in a dispute over tariffs, reported the Guardian earlier this
week. In what is becoming an annual confrontation,
negotiators from Russia and some of her neighbours battle it out over the terms
of trade in oil and gas. Ukraine and
Belarus depend heavily on Russia for their energy supplies, and in turn, Russia
depends on them for the safe transit of oil and gas exports to other European
countries. A year ago, the standoff led
to soaring wholesale gas prices and supply cuts that left millions of
households in Eastern Europe without gas for several days – leading to scores
of additional deaths.
This illustrates how
vulnerable third parties are to the consequences of relationship breakdown over
an issue in which they are not directly involved. Often the people worst
affected are low income households, far removed from the power struggles of
political leaders; this additional dimension of justice further underscores the
vital importance of conflict resolution.