... vessels from participating in further repair or maintenance works.
Meanwhile, Germany and the EU have already voiced strong discontent with the U.S. sanctions. Indeed, they benefit from the project. Russia has agreed to preserve a considerable part of its gas transit via Ukraine — this has been one of the key demands to support the project. The European Union has never invited the U.S. to protect them from the NS2, though there was a heated debate inside the EU. Apparently, sanctions emerge as an instrument of towering ...
... opportunities of energy infrastructure. The Ukrainian political elite has approved a project that had been promoted by the International Monetary Fund and discussed for three consecutive years to extract
Mahistralni Hazoprovody Ukrayiny
(Main Gas Pipelines of Ukraine) gas pipeline system operating company from Naftogaz Ukraine company structure as a key means to reforming the energy sector right after the agreement between Gazprom and the EC was announced.
Gazprom made certain concessions to the EC, which is still ...
... Ukraine. Gazprom didn’t need any further incentive to speed up the
construction of Nord Stream 2
.
The prices for gas that Gazprom charged Ukraine were indeed in some cases higher that the pan-European average. However, unauthorized withdrawals of gas in Ukraine were insanely out of proportion, let alone chronic non-payment by Naftogaz for gas supplies. Therefore, given the peculiarities of the Ukrainian market, the charges of unfair practice appear to be extremely unfounded and have pronounced political ...
... worth noting that Berlin repeatedly stated that one of the requirements for the completion of the Nord Stream 2 project was to
preserve Ukraine’s status as a transit country after 2019
. Gazprom had been voicing its desire to stop transporting gas via Ukraine for years. However, after June 2015, against the backdrop of intensive discussions on the parameters of Nord Stream 2, the Russian company
softened its position and agreed to continue supplying gas after the 2019 cut-off point
.
Despite all the ...
BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – The European Union is trying to maintain the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine for politically motivated reasons, Russian Envoy to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said.
"I think they have the ultimate goal of keeping the Ukrainian transit, which is a purely political stance. It does not have any economic basis," he said,...
... domestic gas production (17.2 bcm in 2014) covered an essential part of socially significant consumption (residential and district heating – 22.1 bcm) and in 2014, a (partial) cross-subsidy was required
only for 5.1 bcm
. The transit of Russian gas via Ukraine – requiring the usage of natural gas as a fuel for compressor stations – was one of key sources of Ukrtransgaz’ (transportation subsidiary of Naftogaz) income. In 2014, transit of Gazprom gas to Europe generated
17.42 billion ...
... Russia," and "at the moment Russia is not a partner (of the EU), but a strategic country and a neighbor, above all of Ukraine."5
This is, however, only a small part of the story and there are other angles to explore. Let us turn our attention ... ... without the “independent decisions” of the EU authorities, just to re-quote Ms. Mogherini's intervention.
Gas at All Costs
Another crucial aspect, which the EU is failing to address, concerns its energy policy, considering that no ...
... which would cease if the South Stream were completed. So far it seems that during the first session of the talks, Kiev agreed in principle to pay $3.1 billion of its debt and to accept the offered gas price. In exchange Gazprom will resume supplying gas to Ukraine[14]. Whatever the outcome of the conference, the participants are watching carefully the possible repercussions on the sanction program, which is due to be reviewed by the Committee of Permanent Representatives in Brussels on September 30[15]....
... then basically on par with other European consumers. In recent years,
Gazprom
made some concessions to other European countries, making current contracted price for Ukraine now higher than the European average. However, the Russian offer to deliver gas to Ukraine at USD 385 per 1,000 cubic meters, i.e. at a 20-percent discount, reflects changes in the European market and fully matches Gazprom prices for European countries. The alternate price suggested by Kiev is absolutely groundless.
As far as the overall ...
... Europe via Ukraine. In the short term, European countries will not be able to find the same amount of gas on the international market, and this will have an extremely negative effect on thousands of households, as well as on industry. Without Russian gas, Ukraine will not be able to make up its gas shortfall, which amounted to 26 billion cubic metres last year. The gas consumption situation in Ukraine has undoubtedly changed in the context of war, but in any case the country does not have enough gas to ...