Mr Pielbags also said he was convinced that Russia would go ahead with the construction of the new North European Gas Pipeline (NEGP) in the Baltic Sea direct to Germany, and by-passing Poland. His comments come a few weeks his visit to Moscow and a meeting with President Vladimir Putin. The Russians apparently rebuffed the EU's attempts to force them to open-up their energy pipelines to foreign firms, while the EU rejected Russian demands to allow its companies free access to its own distribution networks. "We didn't get too far" in the talks, Pielbags admitted, though he said he believed Putin's statements that Russia would be a reliable energy provider. He also said Russia accepted reducing its EU market share from the present 35%. "The Russians don't want to have more than 25% of our energy market," Mr Pielbags said. It is in the interest of both the Russians and Europeans to diversify their energy sources, particularly in gas, Mr Pielbags added. He said he soon would travel to Kazakhstan to encourage the central Asian country to increase its gas production, and build a new pipeline across the Caspian Sea, skirting Russia. The Kazakhs "want our political backing" for these projects, he said. "We should clearly say: we will back them and do all we can to help them." Another sensitive issue with Russia concerns the NEGP under the Baltic Sea, direct to Germany. Mr Pielbags returned from Russia convinced that the Kremlin will go ahead with the project, even if Germany pulls out. He acknowledged that Poland "feels threatened" about being by-passed, and that the Baltics are frightened about potential ecological damage to their sea. Mr Pielbags, who is Latvian, also believes that if the Russians build the link, the Germans will connect their grid to it. "If a pipe comes out and you ask, "do you need some gas?", any country will answer yes," Mr Pielbags said. "It is an easy thing to say." His plan for a European-wide energy regulator has been misinterpreted, the Commissioner insisted. The Commission already has wide antitrust powers to open-up protected national energy markets next year. Now, in order to force companies to build new cross-border connectors and integrate markets, it is pushing for the creation of a common European energy regulator with the power to order grid companies to reinforce cross-border links. A recent Commission study identified such bottlenecks as one of the major reasons that monopolies exist. But many governments fear that this will create, as Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel said in late March, "a new super bureaucracy." Mr Pielbags says "there has been a misunderstanding." He is not talking about creating a "new physical body" but just talking about harmonizing different EU energy regulations and encouraging the creations of a pan-Europan power exchange, which would allow electricity to be bought and sold across borders. He cites the regional Belpex exchange as a model. "Theoretically being in Portugal you should be able to buy electricity from a Finish provider," he says. "But that is not yet happening."