Brussels, 06/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Energy Community has granted Moldova four more years to fully comply with the third package and implement the unbundling rules.
The Ministerial Council of the Energy Community - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine and Kosovo, with Armenia, Georgia, Norway and Turkey as observers - agreed to give more time to Moldova to fully transpose the rules of the third legislative package on the internal energy market into national law, as agreed at the end of 2011 by the nine member countries of the Energy Community. Moldova's deadline for the implementation of ownership unbundling rules in the gas sector as stipulated in the 3rd package, is 1 January 2020.
This decision reflects the particular situation of Moldova's energy sector, which is 100% dependent on a single gas supplier, the Russian gas supplier Gazprom, which also exclusively controls gas transmission system in the country. Gas accounts for 90% of domestic power generation. In addition, key parts of the gas import and transport infrastructure are located in Transnistria, a Russian-speaking region of Moldova over which there is an unsolved sovereignty conflict.
“Yesterday's decision responds to a request by the Moldovan government to take into account Moldova's very specific situation. Securing the uninterrupted supply with gas for the Moldovan citizens and businesses is the priority and Moldova can count on the solidarity of the European Union and Energy Community partners on this”, explained Commissioner for energy Günther Oettinger.
Moldova joined the European Energy Community in 2010 and has been severely beset by its deficits. Russia recently urged the country to renounce its rapprochement with European energy legislation if it wanted to enjoy price reductions in gas supplied from Russia (see EUROPE 10688). (EH/transl.fl)