Ukraine is holding talks with the leadership of the European Commission and the European Energy Community about changing their positions on the South Stream gas pipeline and on the shipment of natural gas from Europe to Ukraine, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Yuriy Boiko has said.
“We’re very unhappy with the position of the Energy Community concerning the diversification, or more precisely the lack thereof,” he said at a briefing on Thursday.
Boiko said that Ukraine, as a member of the European Energy Community, signed a contract with the German company RWE for the supply of 5 billion cubic meters of gas in the spring of 2012.
“We have four interconnectors with the countries that are members of the Energy Community and the EU. Unfortunately, in the autumn of last year we received gas only from one, and in the spring of 2013 from another. Another two countries remain closed to us. Therefore, we are in dialogue with the leadership of these countries and the leadership of the Energy Community, and this dialogue is rather tough,” Boiko said.
The construction of the South Stream is a direct threat to the national interests of Ukraine, in particular the construction of its section in Bulgaria, which “contrary to all the rules and laws of the EU and Energy Community, is continuing with it,” the deputy prime minister said.
“The premier [Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov] sent a letter to the EU commissioner for energy, in which he described the situation and our position on this matter. We believe this infringes on our national interests, and we are against this,” he added.
Boiko said that the objective of the European Energy Community is to ensure equal rights and opportunities, and respect these rights in gas supplies via “pipelines that connect our countries.”
At the same time, lately there has been a significant increase in volumes of gas that come from European countries to Ukraine, Boiko said.
He said an important current objective for Ukraine was to receive gas from Slovakia, which is a member of the Energy Community and the EU.
However, Boiko urged not to dramatize the situation with delays in reaching an agreement on gas supplies from that country.
“This is a temporary phenomenon, and we simply have to wait,” he said.
