Current or former heads of government, European commissioners, national energy company chiefs -- in Brussels, the Russian energy giant has fielded a formidable team of lobbyists to defend its interests and projects, which are not always compatible with European initiatives.

In Brussels, they call them the "Gazprommers" -- the heavy hitting group of lobbyists who for diverse reasons ensure that the interests of the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom are well defended in the European Union. The line-up includes current and former political leaders -- like Gemany's ex-chancellor Gerhard Schröder, and Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi -- whose countries have major contracts with Gazprom, EU bigwigs like Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, and the influential CEOs of Italian, German, Dutch and French national energy companies -- which already have multimillion dollar contracts with the Russians, or are planning to conclude deals soon.

The Gazprommers' influence on European politics extends to issues that have nothing to do with gas. Brussels' climate package is a case in point. Some of the ambitious proposals that feature in the package, which are supposed to make Europe a world leader in the campaign against climate change, are a gift for the Gazprommers. Among the technologies destined to replace coal power generation, natural gas, Gazprom's main product, appears to be the cheapest and the easiest to use.