MOSCOW, April 22. /ITAR-TASS/. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has proposed to create an EU energy union that would be handling issues of natural gas supplies to European countries, including negotiations with Russia energy resources’ supplies. He wrote this on Tuesday in an article for The Financial Times.

“Regardless of how the stand-off over Ukraine develops, one lesson is clear: excessive dependence on Russian energy makes Europe weak. And Russia does not sell its resources cheap - at least, not to everyone... A dominant supplier has the power to raise prices and reduce supply. The way to correct this market distortion is simple. Europe should confront Russia’s monopolistic position with a single European body charged with buying its gas,” the article says.

The Polish prime minister notes that “Once this has been achieved, Europe should undertake the lengthier task of breaking up the Russian gas monopoly and restoring free market competition.”

Tusk gives the example of the European Central Bank and the EU Atomic Energy Agency. “I therefore propose an energy union,” the prime minister concluded.

ITAR-TASS had previously reported that on April 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin in connection with the critical situation around Ukraine sent a letter to 18 leaders of European states that purchase gas from Russia. The Russia head of state’s letter gives in detail the aspects of Kiev’s debt for Russian natural gas deliveries, as well as possible consequences for gas transit to Europe, it expressed extreme concern over the developments and contains a number of concrete proposals on how to overcome the crisis together.

Tusk said then that countries of the European Union should give a unified response to Putin’s letter. “The EU will preserve unity in relations with the Russians,” he said. “The EU acting as one force is important for us, and we with satisfaction are getting the information that all European partners are for a united response, not for bilateral negotiations,” Tusk said.