On a visit to Kiev on Friday 2 September, the Commission vice-president and commissioner for energy union, Maros Sefcovic , encouraged the Ukrainian authorities to continue their reforms, particularly with regard to the country's energy sector. He also reaffirmed the Commission's determination to maintain the trilateral format for gas negotiations with Russia.
"Further reforms are central for modernising Ukraine's economy, to bring advantages to consumers and enterprises alike, and thereby to unlock the potential for higher standards of living", Sefcovic stated. He also held meetings with the Ukrainian prime minister Volodymyr Groïsman, the regional development minister Hennady Zoubko, and the minister for energy Igor Nasalyk, as well as the chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament (the Rada), Andrei Parouby.
Sefcovic welcomed the decision by the Ukrainian government to dismantle the Ukrainian state owned group Naftogaz, and called for the "rapid and coherent implementation of this decision, in the next few months".
The commissioner highlighted Ukraine's "huge" potential in energy efficiency and renewable energies and emphasised that by bringing its energy efficiency up to the average level observed in the EU, the country would be able to save more energy than Spain consumed in a single year and become an energy exporter. In this context, he underlined the Commission's willingness to support the setting up of an energy efficiency fund before the end of the year.
Sefcovic stressed the Commission's determination to relaunch the trilateral negotiations between itself, Ukraine and Russia on Russian gas supplies, which would make Ukraine's gas supplies and transit to the EU secure for winter 2016-2017.
The Commission vice-president said he was hoping to meet the Russian authorities "in the next few weeks". "We want to re-launch the successful trilateral format of gas talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the European Commission. In the past, this forum has proven its usefulness: it is better for all to sit down together around one table. Russia as an exporter, Ukraine as a transit country and the EU as the main importer", Sefcovic stated.
Moscow wants to discuss the Nord Stream-2 project, not gas for Ukraine. On Friday morning, the Russian minister for energy, Alexander Novak, indicated that he intended to discuss implementation of the very controversial German-Russian gas pipeline project, Nord Stream-2, during a meeting with Sefcovic, which could possibly take place "at the end of September or beginning of October", he said.
"We plan to discuss all the issues concerning energy sector: oil, gas and construction of the pipeline infrastructure of Nord Stream-2, Turkish Stream", Novak said, according to reports by Russian press agency Itar-Tass.
A report by Russian newspaper Kommersant, however, said that Russia has no plans to hold trilateral talks on gas with Ukraine and the European Commission. "All issues regarding gas supply are settled by contracts by the end of 2019, so with appropriate resources the Ukrainian side could get the required amount of gas while providing funding in the form of prepayment according to the contract. As of today, we do not plan any meetings, all issues have been resolved”, Novak stated. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)