Slovakia Today, English Language Current Affairs Programme from Slovak Radio

Now that Russian natural gas supplier Gazprom has replenished Russia’s gas storage facilities and started to export more oil to Europe in early November, as promised, Europe’s energy crisis has begun to subside. But could the EU have avoided the crisis altogether, as some suggest, by signing more long term contracts with Gazprom at fixed prices – rather than buying its gas at current market prices only? Jonathan puts this question to Alexander Duleba, an expert in EU energy security and in relations with Russia. – Not everyone has the natural aptitude for scientific work, and among those that do, not everyone discovers it or chooses such a career. Jonathan speaks with Jakub Zavodny, a software developer living and working in Switzerland whose career path was shaped as a teenager here in Slovakia by his participation in science and math competitions – in which he excelled.