Brussels, 13/06/2008 (Agence Europe) -Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs celebrated the 35th anniversary of Russian gas supplies to VNG in Leipzig on Friday 13 June. This gas contract between the German energy company and the Russian supplier Gazprom is the EU's oldest. “Gas has been flowing here from Russia for the past 35 years. Over that period we have seen many political changes, changes so profound that nobody would have predicted them at the time. But no matter what happened, the gas flowed and continues to flow to this day,” said Piebalgs. “The changes that are coming may be even more challenging, as Europe is making a dramatic change in its energy mix and we are becoming one single European gas market. The increase of sales and transport volumes over the recent years show that VNG is ready to face these new challenges and I am sure that its longstanding relationship with Gazprom will continue to be an added value for the European consumers,” he went on. The Commissioner congratulated the companies involved for being flexible, adaptable and resilient in dealing with the manifold changes in the gas industry that have occurred over the past 35 years. He outlined the growing importance of gas for the EU's energy supply and welcomed the recent agreement on the third gas and electricity internal market package made by the Energy Council. (E.H./transl.rt)