Eastern Europe's new found political freedom is not the only consequence of release from the clutches of the U.S.S.R.
Close ties between the economies of the Soviet Union and its former satellites have ensured that the economic upheaval in the U.S.S.R. has a ripple effect from Poland to Bulgaria.
Ample supplies of oil and gas at prices well below prevailing international levels have been replaced by reduced fuel deliveries and invoices that must be paid mainly in hard currency.
SOVIET SUPPLIES
The Soviet Union is a key exporter of crude and products into western Europe, averaging about 2.5 million b/d. Even under more normal market conditions, a decline in deliveries from the Soviet Union would have undesirable repercussions for world markets.
In today's delicately balanced market, any cutback in Soviet deliveries could begin another panic-something that has not been lost on European governments.
The opening of the U.S.S.R. and eastern Europe has exposed the full extent of environmental degradation in those regions and the desperate need to implement sound energy conservation principles to take some of the pressure off the Soviet Union's creaking production and distribution infrastructure.
European governments have been looking at ways of helping the former Soviet satellites and heading off problems that would result from a significant downturn in Soviet exports.
One avenue being explored is a Dutch initiative for a European Energy Charter that would form the basis of closer cooperation between the countries of western and eastern Europe.
Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers first put forth the idea at a summit meeting of leaders from the European Community in Dublin last June.
Lubbers again promoted the concept of a European charter during the recent Paris meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe at which European countries, the U.S., and Canada formally ended the cold war.
He disclosed that first contacts with Moscow had been received with some skepticism. More recent approaches showed the Soviets are less wary of the idea, and in some parts of the Moscow government there is even limited enthusiasm.
While Lubbers has talked about a European charter, he envisages the involvement of the U.S. and Canada as well as the International Energy Agency with its extensive non-European membership.
CHARTER BACKING
Official backing for the charter has come from the European Community, which has taken on implementation of the idea. Jacques Delors, president of the European Commission, said at the Paris CSCE meeting a European Energy Charter could create a climate of confidence that would ensure that energy is put to its best use. It would help diversify sources of supply, reduce imbalances in the international community, and make reasonable allowance for environmental considerations.
Delors said the objective is not to set up a cumbersome, bureaucratic mechanism. It is simply to produce a clear set of principles and rules charter countries can apply in dealings with each other and with the rest of the world.
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