... opponents were expecting European companies to abandon the project in light of these circumstances. However, the Council of the European Union Legal Service
pointed out
that expanding the provisions of the Third Energy Package to include Nord Stream 2 was ... ... mutually exclusive reasons why building Nord Stream 2 in impossible. The first reason is that the gas pipeline would lead to Gazprom having a majority stake in the European market – Russia would inflate prices and/or demand that the countries in Europe bend to its political will under the threat of cutting ...
... force will require an approval from all the countries involved, which doesn’t ensure its acceptance by Poland or Baltic states who seem resentful towards the «North Stream-2» pipeline construction or towards the gradual decline of Russian supplies via Baltic sea ports.
The EU investigation led by the European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager, was based on the belief that Gazprom broke European Union Competition Law when supplying gas to eight countries of the integration unit - Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Estonia. In addition to overpricing, another alleged offense is tying gas contracts ...
Today, Russia remains the second largest gas producer after the US. However, its leverage ability is being challenged by the slowdown ... ... in more than 50 international and 20 domestic projects, Russia’s current position is shaky. Governmental favoritism of Gazprom, who has a privileged position with regards to controlling export routes, striped other companies such as Novatek and ...
The quality of the commercial cooperation between Russian and Western European companies in the energy sector has remained significant, despite the sanctions regime. Strong economic ... ... the Nord Stream-2 project, which has the potential to completely substitute Ukrainian transit routes. On top of that, in 2015 Gazprom has delivered to Germany a record quantity of 45.3 bcm of natural gas. What’s more intriguing is the 19% increase ...
Turkish Stream was conceived in 2014 following Russia’s cancellation of South Stream which became a casualty of Russia-Ukrainian conflict and faced high opposition from ... ... gas going to Europe and bypassing Ukraine, Turkey tries to increase its bargaining power and engages into price arbitrage with Gazprom: 10.25% discount offered by Gazprom is deemed insufficient and Turkey does not want to receive anything less than15%. ...
... negotiating position against the background of falling production from other sources that traditionally supply gas to Europe. The European Union could act irrationally and prioritize purchases of more expensive natural gas (as is the case with Lithuania, with ... ... unlikely scenario given the slow economic growth on the continent.
People often make the mistake of thinking that the interests of Russia and the interests of Gazprom are the same. In this case, however, they are largely the same. The Russian government does not care who produces and ...
... launching an ambitious westward project.
Georgy Toloraya takes a broader look by trying to figure out how the BRICS, a forum where Russia and China work closely together, can be turned into a platform for establishing new principles of world order. Alexander ... ... on what Russia can do to attract Central Asia’s interest in the energy sector. In his opinion, the declared changes in Gazprom’s strategy of business operation in Europe should be accompanied by a revision of relations with Central Asian countries ...
... southern part. The main stumbling block is that the project did not – and does not – conform to the standards of the Third Energy Package ratified by the European Commission’s Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators with regard to European Union and third party states. More specifically, the European side was not satisfied with Russia’s unwillingness to allow other suppliers to use the project’s infrastructure, and the fact that Gazprom would be the main operator. All this despite the fact that Brussels had no qualms about making such demands while offering no financing of its own whatsoever. Russia had teamed up with a number of private European investors to front around $15 ...
Interview with professor Richard Sakwa
Interview
Over the last decade relations between Russia and the West have intermittingly fluctuated from periods of warm fronts to cold ... ... – offers his insight on the current temperature settings with USA, UK and the European Union. In this interview we discuss leading political figures, political parties... ... for immediate issues, it is important not to draw quick conclusions. For example, the Gazprom anti-monopoly investigation by the EU is not unprecedented, as for instance...
