South Stream bilateral deals breach EU law, Commission says

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Speaking in the European Parliament, Klaus-Dieter Borchardt, director for energy markets at the European Commission, said the deals were in breach of EU law.

“The Commission has looked into these intergovernmental agreements and came to the conclusion that none of the agreements is in compliance with EU law," Borchardt said.

"That is the reason why we have told these states that they are under the obligation, either coming from the EU treaties, or from the Energy Community treaty, that they have to ask for re-negotiation with Russia, to bring the intergovernmental agreements in line with EU law,” he added.

Borchardt explained that if these negotiations are not successfully conducted, then these countries had to denounce their agreements with Russia.
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Three conditions

The Commission official highlighted at least three major issues about the deals:

• First, the EU's so-called network ownership 'unbundling' rules need to be observed, he said. This means that Gazprom, which is both a producer and a supplier of gas, cannot simultaneously own production capacity and its transmission network;
• Secondly, non-discriminatory access of third parties to the pipeline needs to be ensured. There cannot be an exclusive right for Gazprom to be the only shipper; and
• Thirdly, the tariff structure needed to be addressed.

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But even if negotiations are successful, work to accommodate South Stream with EU concerns would take time, Borchardt warned.

“Not months, maybe two years before we get there," he said.

Hilarious stuff,just as they were setting the first pipelines and Gazprom was opening the champagne the EU Commission swoops in and tells them "no can do Scooby Doo...Start Over !"

South Stream bilateral deals breach EU law, Commission says | EurActiv

 

[I-LEK]

South Stream - a blow to the pipe: the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum.

significance of Azer-gay-jan 1918 - falls!