On Sunday 4 March, the vice-president of the European Commission responsible for the Union of energy, Maros Sefcovic, said that, despite the current conflict between gas companies Gazprom (Russia) and Naftogaz (Ukraine), deliveries of Russian gas would indeed take place via Ukraine.
The European Union’s concern, voiced on Friday 2 March, follows litigation between the two gas companies regarding a decision by the Stockholm court of arbitration on 28 February, compelling Gazprom to pay over €2.5 billion to Naftogaz in order to settle a payment dispute over gas deliveries (see EUROPE 11973). Sefcovic feared that the Russian gas giant would decide to cut off or reduce gas supplies to Ukraine and towards the EU.
The commissioner, who discussed the matter with Russia’s energy minister, Alexander Novak, last weekend, is said to have received assurance that the dispute will not have an effect on the European Union.
As far as Ukraine is concerned, Novak gave Sefcovic confirmation that Gazprom wished to put an end to the contract binding the company to its Ukrainian counterpart. As special measures had been put in place by Naftogaz, mainly concerning the provision of gas from Poland, the company told the commissioner that the situation was “under control”.
“The European Commission stands ready to engage and mediate in a trilateral process, which in the past proved to be effective in bridging differences between the parties”, the commissioner states in a press release. He goes on to add: “I will follow the situation closely in order to ensure that the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine to the EU – as it remains our priority – is safeguarded at all times”. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)