Brussels, 02/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 30 April, Russia asked the WTO for consultations with the EU on its third legislative package on the liberalisation of the single energy market.
In its request, which was notified on Wednesday to the secretariat general of the WTO, Russia refers to EU regulatory measures in the energy sector, concerning the production, supply and transmission of natural gas or electricity, the certification requirements in relation to third countries, which Russia argues are discriminatory, and the requirement in respect of granting access to natural gas and electricity network capacity by transmission service operators. Moscow argues that these measures are “inconsistent” with a number of obligations and specific commitments of the European Union and constitute an “infringement” of these obligations and commitments, the WTO states in a press release. The inconsistencies alleged by Russia refer to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and the Agreement Establishing the WTO.
The consultations, which formally initiate the dispute settlement procedure at the WTO, will last for 60 days. At the end of this period, if no satisfactory solution has been reached between the parties, the complainant may request adjudication by a panel.
Against a backdrop of considerable diplomatic tensions with the EU over the Ukrainian crisis, with possible knock-on effects for energy security (see other article), Russia has therefore decided to bring before the WTO a matter which has been a thorn in Moscow's side since the EU adopted its third energy package, particularly with the European anti-monopoly investigation stemming from this, targeting the European activities of the Russian gas company Gazprom, which were launched in late 2012. Since it was adopted in 2009, Moscow has refused to comply with the obligations of the third package, which require the separation of the supply and transport activities of energy operators (unbundling), thereby obliging Gazprom to change the structure of its assets in Europe. The row turned ugly in September 2012, when, further to a complaint by Lithuania, the European Commission opened an investigation into the Russian gas company for abuse of dominant position and manipulation of prices in several countries of central and eastern Europe, which are highly dependent on supplies of Russian gas. In response to the launch of the investigation into Gazprom, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, who was prime minister at the time, spoke out against the obligations of the third energy package, describing it as “robbery”.
With this procedure, Russia, which has already been challenged at the WTO by the EU over its recycling tax on imported vehicles (DS 462) and its embargo on European pork (DS 475), is making its second complaint to the WTO about the EU, following its challenge in January of the EU's anti-dumping taxes on its exports of ammonium nitrate and steel products (DS 474). This latest WTO procedure bears the number DS 476. (EH)