The Vice-President of the European Commission for the Energy Union, Maroš Šefčovič, welcomed the progress made on Thursday 19 September in Brussels during the trilateral negotiations (Russia, the European Union and Ukraine) on the transit of Russian gas to Europe via Ukrainian territory. Progress has been made on the transposition of EU energy rules by Ukrainian operators, but a further round of negotiations at ministerial level at the end of November will be needed to reach a compromise on the modalities of the transit contract (duration, volumes and tariffs).
“It is feasible”, said Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, on the chances of concluding a tripartite compromise (EU/Russia/Ukraine) on gas transit at the end of October, knowing that the current 10-year contract is coming to an end in 2019.
He also commended the “constructive spirit” that prevailed during the trilateral discussions. The Commission assessed the “convergence of positions” between Russia and Ukraine on the fact that the future gas transit contract should be “based on EU law”.
The Ukrainian delegation was led by Energy Minister Oleksiy Orzhel, and the Russian delegation was represented by Energy Minister Alexander Novak. The CEOs of Naftogaz and Gazprom also participated in the discussions.
Certification and transposition of EU rules. EU gas rules will be reflected in the contract on the transit of Russian gas to Europe via Ukrainian territory, the Commissioner said, welcoming Naftogaz's commitments to the unbundling process. A new operator (new transmission system) will be created to implement the new gas contract. This company will need to be certified by the EU to ensure that EU rules are properly transposed, the Commissioner explained. Ukraine hopes that this company will receive this certification by December 1. It is this company that will sign the agreement with Gazprom with the different terms (volumes, duration, rates).
Everything remains to be done on the details of the contract. The parties will still have to find a compromise on the volumes, duration and tariffs of the contract.
For the EU, the important thing is to have good gas prices for its consumers, the European Commissioner insisted.
Last January, the Commission proposed a new 10-year transit contract with a minimum guaranteed annual transit volume of 60 billion cubic metres (bcm) and an additional flexibility of 30 bcm. This offer has been accepted by the Ukrainian side.
In addition, the Commission has verified that the EU has enough gas to survive the winter without any problems (stocks are filled to 96% of full capacity). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)