Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom has reached deals with Italian, Bulgarian, Greek and Serbian energy companies to push its South Stream pipeline forward and double its capacity. The Kremlin-backed project is intended to deliver Russian natural gas to Europe, but the European Union isn't sure it's interested.

However, Russia has often been accused of using its gas reserves as a political weapon. European customers rely on Russia for one quarter of their natural gas. Tired of this dependence, the EU is looking to diversify its gas suppliers by backing the Nabucco pipeline, which would move gas westward from Central Asia, bypassing both Russia and Ukraine.