Ukraine demands the European Energy Community investigate the actions of Slovenia in support of the Russian South Stream project. Such was the appeal of the Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine Yuriy Boyko to the Director of the Energy Community Secretariat Slavtcho Neykov, according to Ekonomicheskie Izvestia.

On February 27, 2012, Slovenia negotiated the parameters of the part of South Stream that would run through its territory. This provoked Ukraine to plea to the European Energy Community (EEC), which both Ukraine and Slovenia are members of, to examine whether Slovenia’s actions adhere to the principles of the organization.

Yuriy Boyko draws attention of Slavtcho Neykov to the fact that modernization of Ukrainian gas transporting system is in the EU’s best interests, while South Stream is a political project rather than economical. He reminded that such was the position of the European Commissioner for Energy Guenther Oettinger. Previously, Ukraine suggested entitling modernization of its gas transporting system as a priority project for Europe.

Therefore, EEC, pursuing establishment of a common regulatory framework for member energy markets through extending EU standards across their territories, should take action to protect the interests of its member-states.

Willing to introduce unified rules in energy sector management, Ukraine joined the Energy Community treaty in 2011. The Ukrainian minister insists that while his country did its best to guarantee European energy security, Europe did not reciprocate.

Moreover, energy expert Volodymyr Saprykin reckons that South Stream construction goes against the so-called Third Energy Package – a collection of legislative documents of the EU that concern Union’s internal gas and electricity market. The document bans energy companies from combining the functions of supply, sale, and transportation of gas. To comply with this regulation Ukraine is currently restructuring its own gas managing company – the state-owned Naftogaz.

At the moment, Russia is building South Stream gas transporting pipeline, set to run through the territories of Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Russia, Serbia, and Slovenia. The route will allow transporting of Russian gas to European countries bypassing Ukrainian transit facilities that are now accountable for 70 percent of Russian gas supply to Europe.

Image Courtesy of  Vasily Smirnov / Shutterstock.com

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