| Series Title | EurActiv |
|---|---|
| Series Details | 11.03.14 |
| Publication Date | 11/03/2014 |
| Content Type | News |
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Due to broader political developments, including the Crimea crisis, EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger announced on the 10 March 2014 that he was to delay talks with Russia over the South Stream pipeline project, aimed at importing Russian gas via the Black Sea. In December 2013, Oettinger had said that the European Commission would represent seven countries embroiled in a legal dispute with Russia over the South Stream gas pipeline. In a related url hyperlink academics discuss the impact on various countries in Europe if gas supplies from Russia through Ukraine were disrupted. One of the great concerns for EU states over the on-going situation in Crimea is their reliance on Russian gas to meet their energy demands, with around 60% of these imports being delivered through pipelines in Ukraine. Jack Sharples and Andy Judge provide a comprehensive assessment of what the impact would be if the transit routes via Ukraine were suspended. They note that while the situation has generally been portrayed as an ‘EU problem’, the risk to Western Europe would be minimal. Rather, the problem would be a distinctly regional one, with Bulgaria, Macedonia and Romania facing a serious loss of gas supplies. Other states in Central and Eastern Europe would not face immediate problems due to existing gas stocks, provided the suspension of transit through Ukraine did not last longer than approximately two months. The European Commission warned Bulgaria against attempts to pass a law apparently aimed at circumventing the Third Energy Package, as South Stream was reportedly regarded as an interconnector, not a pipeline. A non-binding resolution denouncing Russian pressure on Eastern European countries failed to receive the support of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament in April 2014, out of fear it might derail a "strategic" project for Bulgaria. On the 24 April 2014, Bulgarian Energy Minister Dragomir Stoynev met with the EU's Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger Thursday to discuss the future of the Gazprom-sponsored South Stream gas pipeline. However, the two sides offered a widely diverging interpretation of the exchange. The European Parliament called for the Gazprom-sponsored South Stream project to be abandoned. But the Russian gas monopoly remained determined to build the pipeline, and offered that a branch would reach the Baumgarten gas hub near Vienna. |
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| Source Link | http://www.euractiv.com/energy/south-stream-project-takes-crime-news-534038 |
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| Subject Categories | Energy |
| Countries / Regions | Europe, Russia |
