Interfax: Moscow expects explanations from Brussels regarding talks on South Stream – Chizhov

BRUSSELS. Jan 14 (Interfax) – It is necessary to carry out eliminations and exceptions in the European Union law for the South Stream transborder pipeline, Russia’s envoy to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said.

Moscow expects EU Commissioner for Energy Gunther Oettinger to elaborate on the way in which Brussels will hold talks on the South Stream on behalf of the six EU countries participating in the project by end of the week, Chizhov said when speaking on January 13 in the European Policy Center in Brussels.

“The six EU countries participating in the project have delegated the right to hold talks with the Russian government on their behalf to the European Commission. The meeting of the Permanent Partnership Council on Energy will be held this week – Oettinger will arrive in Moscow on Friday [January 17]. He will probably say something in this regard,” Chizhov said.

“The third energy package is not the best invention of the EU. We are watching major energy projects in the EU closely and see that many are based on exceptions of this legislative package. It is no wonder. The peculiarity of major transborder energy projects is that they can not be based solely on the domestic law of the EU. For instance, the OPAL gas pipeline system is a branch of the Nord Stream in Germany. We have agreed that the section of the OPAL pipeline on EU territory is eligible for the third package demands and we are currently holding talks on the flexible application of this legislative act to the OPAL pipeline only. The South Stream is an utterly different matter. It is transborder and is on the territory of Russia and crosses the Black Sea and countries that are and are not part of the EU, such as Serbia. That is why special treatment is needed for it,” Chizhov said.

The envoy said that Gazprom (MOEX: GAZP) was holding consultations with the European Commission regarding its lifting of antimonopoly clauses against the Russian company and that he was not aware of the details of these consultations.

“I can only confirm that the parties are holding consultations,” he said.

The EU executive committee has started an anti-monopoly investigation regarding Gazprom upon the complaint of Lithuania on September 4, 2012. The European Commission, whose responsibilities include observing that the EU law is complied with, suspects the Russian company of abusing its dominant position in gas supplies to Central and Eastern Europe, preventing free gas movement via the EU states, obstructing the diversification of gas supply sources and imposing unfair gas prices on buyers.

The investigation is held in three Baltic countries, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Bulgaria.

According to EU law, the fine for the violation of competition standards could reach up to 10% of the company’s annual turnover.

The European Commission expects to complete its investigation by spring 2014, Oettinger has said.