EU threatens legal action over Russian gas cut

By Darren Ennis

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - European Union nations and firms may sue Russia and Ukraine unless the two countries quickly restore gas supplies to the bloc, the European Commission's president said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the European Parliament, Jose Manuel Barroso also said that unless gas started flowing soon he would advise the bloc's 27 member states to take measures to secure alternative long-term suppliers of energy.

"I would like to convey a very clear message to Moscow and Kiev. If the agreement sponsored by the EU is not honored as a matter of urgency, the Commission will advise EU companies to take this matter to the courts," he said.

A pricing dispute between Moscow and Kiev has cut supplies of natural gas to European countries via Ukraine, hitting 18 countries in the depths of winter.

The gas has yet to start flowing again despite a recent agreement on transit brokered by the EU.

"The current situation is in short most unacceptable and incredible," Barroso said during a debate on the EU's program for the first half of 2009.

"If the agreement is not honored, it means that Russia and Ukraine can no longer be regarded as reliable."

Barroso later told a news conference that legal action could be taken under contracts EU companies have with Russian gas monopoly Gazprom.