2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute built on that." Merkel continued by saying "We will certainly say to our Russian partners but also to Belarus that such consultations are the minimum when there are problems, and I think that that must become normality, as it would be within the European Union." Barroso said that "while there is no immediate risk to supplies, it is not acceptable" for such actions to be undertaken without prior consultation. 2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute The Russia–Belarus energy dispute began when Russian state-owned gas supplier Gazprom demanded an increase in gas prices paid by Belarus, a country which has been closely allied
Gazprom million per year. On 23 November 2009, the partnership was extended for a further 5 years. The sponsorship was worth $150m (USD) over 5 years. On 9 July 2010, Gazprom became a sponsor of the Serbian SuperLiga football club Red Star Belgrade. In 2010, Gazprom was a "Gold Partner" of the Russian professional cycling team, Team Katusha, together with Itera, and Russian Technologies (Rostekhnologii). On 9 July 2012, Gazprom became a sponsor of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super Cup. The sponsorship continued for three seasons until 2015. On 17 July 2012, Gazprom became the official "Global Energy" partner