Ukraine plans by 2014 to liberalize gas laws in line with the requirements of European laws, Deputy Energy and Coal Industry Minister Volodymyr Makukha said at the Polish-Ukrainian gas conference in Warsaw on Thursday, April 11.
“We’re conducting reforms, and as a part of the reforms we’re liberalizing Ukrainian laws to bring them in line with European laws. In particular, we’ve passed the law on the gas market and some other acts,” he said.
Speaking to the conference, Makukha brought up the issue of building new gas pipelines to bypass Ukraine. He said that the building of new gas supply routes bypassing Ukraine has only political sense. He said that without the clearly defined economic compounds of the said projects, they are not justified.
As reported, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian gas giant Gazprom to return to the development of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline project for supplies to Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.
The pipeline will supply Russian gas to Central European countries that now get gas through Ukraine via the Uzhgorod corridor. Combined with the South Stream pipeline, it will complete the exclusion of Ukraine from gas transshipments to Europe.
President of Poland Bronislaw Komorowski has said that Poland is not going to take any steps in the gas sector that could threaten Ukraine’s interests.
