Ukraine says it is vital to EU energy security
The Ukrainian energy minister said September 29 during a meeting with European officials that bypassing its natural gas network undermined regional energy security.
Ukrainian energy minister Herman Galushchenko met in Brussels with Maros Sefcovic, the vice president of the European Commission, and EU energy secretary Kadri Simson to discuss gas transit in the European Union.
Russia is a dominant natural gas supplier to the European market and much of that supply has traditionally moved through the Soviet-era transit networks running through Ukraine. A history of contractual disputes, the tug-of-war over whose sphere of influence Ukraine belongs in and efforts to address antitrust issues regarding Russian energy company Gazprom all add up to create challenges for European energy security.
“We expect the European Commission to pay due attention to this issue,” the Ukrainian minister said. “Gas transit through Ukraine is important for energy security of the whole region, so we must work on joint solutions to preserve it.”
His comments followed the recent signing of a 15-year gas transit deal between Hungary and Russia that calls for the delivery of 4.5mn m3/yr. Gazprom said a unique part of the deal would be the start of deliveries to Hungary using the TurkStream natural gas pipeline, among the arteries that avoids Ukraine.
When Russian gas moves through non-Ukrainian networks, it starves Kyiv of transit revenue it would otherwise receive.
The Ukrainian minister alleged that agreement could raise further antitrust issues as well.