The European Union, Russia and Ukraine agreed in Berlin on Tuesday 17 July to establish a trilateral discussion process by the end of 2018 on the long-term transit of gas to Europe via Ukraine, said European Commission Vice-President with responsibility for the Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič, following what he described as “a long but a productive day” of talks with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin.
Šefčovič said the three parties had agreed on the need to “separate old and new issues” on the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine, a subject that has long provoked argument between Moscow and Kiev and one on which it is urgent to find a resolution with the gas transit contract between Naftogaz of Ukraine and Gazprom of Russia due to expire at the end of 2019.
The three parties will, Šefčovič stated, mandate their high-level experts to work on four issues: - the European Union’s gas needs; - the ways in which EU law applied in Ukraine would impact on the future transit contract; - the certified transmission system operator; - tariffs.
A trilateral meeting of these experts is expected to take place in mid-September, ahead of a trilateral political-level meeting in the course of October, he added.
“To have everyone around one table today and to start building trust was of vital importance. As you know, time is passing quickly and every day we are getting closer to the end of 2019. You all know the fundamental question – whether on 1 January 2020, we will have an agreement on the long-term transit of Russian gas to the EU through Ukraine in a commercially viable manner”, the commissioner stated.
“I hope that we will continue to see a firm commitment on both sides to reach an agreement at the end of this process. I am convinced that such an agreement is in everyone's best interest”, he said, indicating that he expected the process to be “complex and difficult”. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)