European Commission

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
PRESS RELEASE
Brussels, 28 April 2014
Commission welcomes breakthrough leading to gas
flows from Slovakia to Ukraine
The European Commission welcomes the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) enabling gas flows from Slovakia to Ukraine, which is set to take place this
afternoon in Bratislava. José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, will
attend the ceremony together with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico and Ukrainian
Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan. The Commission acted as a facilitator in the negotiations
that led to today’s breakthrough. Along with the MoU, the gas pipeline operators
concerned – the Slovakian company Eustream and the Ukrainian company Ukrtransgaz –
will sign a Framework Interconnection Agreement today, laying out the technical details of
the foreseen solution.
José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, said: “I warmly congratulate
all parties involved on the breakthrough in the negotiations on gas flows from Slovakia to
Ukraine. This is an important first step to diversify Ukraine’s sources of gas supply and
contributes to greater energy security in Eastern Europe and the EU as a whole. It shows
the EU's strong commitment in support of Ukraine's energy sector, which is also reflected
in the economic and financial package the Union has swiftly provided for Ukraine in the
past weeks. I would like to thank Energy Commissioner Oettinger and his team, who
played a central role in paving the way for today’s agreement."
Günther Oettinger, Commissioner for Energy, said: “Today’s deal marks a milestone. It is
a first step for gas flows from Slovakia to Ukraine and strengthens the ties between the
EU’s energy market and Ukraine. Gas via Slovakia will bring a considerable addition to the
volumes that Ukraine can already import from Hungary and Poland. Deliveries from EU
Member States offer Ukraine access to gas priced on the basis of fair and transparent
principles. It is important in this respect that Ukraine, particularly as a member of the
Energy Community, makes swift progress in aligning its legal and regulatory framework
with the EU energy legislation. This will increase investor’s confidence and help the
country to modernise its energy sector.”
IP/14/487
Background
Currently, it is technically possible to ship gas from Poland and Hungary to Ukraine. Last
year Ukraine imported around 2 billion cubic meters of gas from EU Member States.
Based on the solution which is presented in the MoU, the existing and unused Vojany
pipeline at Veľké Kapušany on the Slovakian side will be modernised during a short
construction period. There is a clear perspective that 22 million cubic meters of gas a day
can flow from Slovakia to Ukraine via the Vojany pipeline as from autumn 2014. This
corresponds to approximately 8 billion cubic meters a year. Eustream will swiftly check
some technical details in order to be able to confirm the implementation of this solution
within a few weeks. Should this option unexpectedly prove not to be feasible, the
alternative would be to start with a smaller volume and scale the pipeline up to 22 million
cubic meters a day until April 2015.
The successful implementation of gas flows from the EU to Ukraine is a win-win situation
for both parties. It allows Ukraine to access various gas sources – among them Norwegian
gas or liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the global markets – at competitive prices. As a
member of the Energy Community, Ukraine will ensure the implementation of the EU
internal energy market legislation. The approximation of the Ukrainian legal and
regulatory framework is a prerequisite for higher investor’s confidence and could lead to a
better use of Ukraine’s immense gas infrastructure, for example as regards storage
capacity.
However, the solution which has been sealed today is only a first step in enabling gas
flows from Slovakia to Ukraine. Further options besides using the Vojany pipeline will be
legally and technically assessed in due course.
For further information
On EU-Ukraine energy cooperation:
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/international/bilateral_cooperation/ukraine_en.htm
Contacts :
Sabine Berger (+32 2 29 92792)
Nicole Bockstaller (+32 2 295 25 89)
For the public: Europe Direct by phone 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 or by e-mail
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