UEFA gives Ukraine two months to catch up with Euro-2012 schedule.

KIEV, April 9 (Itar-Tass) -- UEFA President Michel Platini gave
Ukraine two months to catch up with its 2012 European Championship
preparation schedule and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich estimated
it would cost five billion dollars.
"Ukraine has two months to show what it can do. We cannot waste time
any more," Platini said after a meeting with Yanukovich on Thursday
following a two-day visit to four of the country's host cities.
"I told him we need guarantees from the government on going forward
and I told him that in the next two months we would like to see strong
signs of advancing," Platini told journalists.
"President Yanukovich gave guarantees that the work would be done and
that he would do everything for the government to follow this," he said.
Platini raised doubts whether Ukraine would be ready to co-host the
tournament with Poland, complaining that work on the Lvov stadium had
stopped while renovation work on Kiev's Olympic stadium which is to host
the final is behind schedule. The other two Ukrainian host cities are
Kharkov and Donetsk in the east.
Platini reiterated that if the Kiev stadium was not ready, the Euro
tournament would not take place in Ukraine.
"There is no Plan B, no Plan C," Platini said.
The Ukrainian government plans to earmark 26 billion hryvnias ($3.3
billion) from the 2010 state budget to help modernize stadiums, develop
airport infrastructure and build roads.
However Yanukovich said it will cost 40 billion hryvnia to catch up on
the delay.


.EU energy commissioner to boost dialogue with Gazprom.

MOSCOW, April 9 (Itar-Tass) -- European Energy Commissioner Gunther
Oettinger met Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller on Thursday to discuss future
cooperation and promised to engage the Russian gas monopoly in drafting
decisions.
The European Union plans to make the EU-Russia energy dialogue more
active and better involve such companies, as Gazprom and its partners in
Europe into the process of discussing and drafting decisions, he told Tass.
"The European Union and Russia comprise a single continental gas
market. We are definitely set to enhance cooperation in the energy sphere
with Russia and Gazprom," Oettinger said adding he paid his first foreign
visit as energy commissioner to Russia.
Gazprom said Miller and Oettinger discussed liberalization of the
European gas market and related guaranteed supplies in the framework of
new infrastructure projects. They also considered diversification of gas
supply routes to European customers.


.Fishing chief blasts resisting officials, fishermen.

KALININGRAD, April 9 (Itar-Tass) -- Head of the Russian Fishing
Committee Andrei Krainy on Thursday blasted regional officials for
inaction regarding the creation of nationwide Ocean fish retailer network,
and fishermen for opposing plans to create fish exchanges.
"We experience certain pressure from lobbying groups of fishermen who
are against the creation of fish exchanges as an open platform to
determine the price of the product," he told a press conference in the
Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad.
He said the opposition to fish exchanges is specifically strong in the
Far East.
"We do not propose to auction all fish, the talk is about at least 25
percent. Nevertheless they are against fish exchanges," he said.
Krainy recalled that Spanish fishermen also opposed fish exchanges,
however "authorities made a political decision."
"The creation of fish exchanges in Russia shall be supported by the
fishing community, which has to understand that it is both useful and
profitable," Krainy said.
As for the Ocean fish retailer network, he said regional officials bar
the initiative.
"Officials in many regions and cities are not interested and provide
no support to the Ocean network that would sell fish at lower prices," he
said.
Krainy said 67 Ocean shops operate in 33 out of 84 Russian regions.
"Unfortunately, the shops open mostly against the will of officials.
Local authorities do not want to create an alternative fish trading
system. They are indifferent to the interests of the people and ignore
them," Krainy said.
He estimated fish prices are 30 percent lower in Ocean retailer
network as there are no intermediaries between producer and seller. He
also said fish consumption in Russia upped 30 percent in 2009.
Krainy estimated Russia needs up to 300 new fishing vessels by 2020.
"The fleet is being renewed very slowly. In the past years fishing
companies got only eight new vessels. We need modern Russian projects, we
have to make shipyards operate in new economic conditions and actively
borrow western technologies," he said.
Krainy said Spain displayed interest in constructing a shipyard in
Kaliningrad. "The first trawler for Russia will be built in Spain, but
then construction will move to Kaliningrad. Investments will be close to
100 million euro," he said.
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