ENERGY, the European Commission believes, should flow freely to and between EU members. So Maros Sefcovic, the energy commissioner, has two adversaries. One is Russia, which is trying to keep its chokehold on gas supplies to eastern Europe. The other is EU national governments and their state-owned companies. They like the clout of national energy markets and dislike the way that cross-border trade in gas and electricity erodes it.On Russia, the EU has made progress. It has avoided, so far, any cuts in gas supplies this winter. Despite more Russian bluster this week, Mr Sefcovic is baby-sitting an agreement on bills and debts that the EU helped to broker between Ukraine and Russia. It has pushed his native Slovakia to send gas eastward to Ukraine, reversing the usual flow. The EU is pressing Ukraine to reform its energy business, in particular to put gas meters on the border with Russia rather than rely on measurements taken at pumping stations inside the country. Many see a lack of meters as a prime source of corruption.The EU has also faced down the Kremlin over South Stream, a highly political planned gas pipeline under the Black Sea and…
