The new tension between Russia and Ukraine regarding gas supplies does not, for now, have any impact on Russian gas deliveries to the EU, the European Commission stated on Tuesday 6 March.
“According to information available to us, Russian gas flows to the EU are stable and normal”, a Commission spokesperson said.
The vice-president of the Commission responsible for the Union of energy, Maros Sefcovic, has discussed the matter with Russian and Ukrainian energy ministers and the Commission is ready to ensure mediation to calm tension between the two parties, if they so request, the spokesperson says.
On Monday 5 March, the Russian gas company Gazprom announced that it had formally notified the Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz of the opening of a procedure for cancellation of both transit and supply contracts further to the decision taken on 28 February by the Stockholm arbitration court, which ordered Gazprom to pay $2.56 billion to Naftogaz to settle their long-lasting dispute over the payment of gas supplies (see EUROPE 11973).
Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said he had launched the procedure due to “considerable prejudice to the commercial balance between the two contracts”. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)