Gazprom pipeline usage rights agreement with Romania to expire
October 02 2015
The convention signed between The
Russian Federation and Romania in 1996 which regulated the transit
and supply of Russian gas through Romania will expire on December
31st 2015.
After this date the country will therefore have the
right to resell gas coming in from Russia, and third parties will be able to gain access to the pipelines.
As HotNews reports the conventions signed with Russia caused some legal issues for Romania in that the European Commission almost sanctioned the country because of clauses stating that all access to these pipelines of third parties is denied. These clauses apparently broke European Union regulation number 1775/2005 concerning conditions of access to the transport of natural gases. The pipelines belong to Gazprom, consequently no third party has the right to use them,that is until the contract regulating this will have expired.
According to the same source, yearly imports of Russian gas amount to around two billion cubic meters, although, had Romania built the necessary transport systems, Russia would have delivered, as the contracts imply in this case, around 14 billion cubic meters.
Romania denounced the two conventions to the European Commission, yet it did state that new such agreements with the Russian Federation are quite possible, even probable, this time within the constraints of EU law.
Apparently, although once the agreements have expired Romania would be allowed to sell its gas imports, as the prohibition for doing so will have expired at the same time as the accord, the country has not been able to provide for most of what is needed in order to physically execute the exports. This is why the European Commission decided to take Romania to court in 2015.
Respecting EU norms is not going to make the relationship between Romania and the Russian Federation in the area of transportation of natural gas at all easy, since Russia sees the conditions imposed by the EU as unacceptable.
As HotNews reports the conventions signed with Russia caused some legal issues for Romania in that the European Commission almost sanctioned the country because of clauses stating that all access to these pipelines of third parties is denied. These clauses apparently broke European Union regulation number 1775/2005 concerning conditions of access to the transport of natural gases. The pipelines belong to Gazprom, consequently no third party has the right to use them,that is until the contract regulating this will have expired.
According to the same source, yearly imports of Russian gas amount to around two billion cubic meters, although, had Romania built the necessary transport systems, Russia would have delivered, as the contracts imply in this case, around 14 billion cubic meters.
Romania denounced the two conventions to the European Commission, yet it did state that new such agreements with the Russian Federation are quite possible, even probable, this time within the constraints of EU law.
Apparently, although once the agreements have expired Romania would be allowed to sell its gas imports, as the prohibition for doing so will have expired at the same time as the accord, the country has not been able to provide for most of what is needed in order to physically execute the exports. This is why the European Commission decided to take Romania to court in 2015.
Respecting EU norms is not going to make the relationship between Romania and the Russian Federation in the area of transportation of natural gas at all easy, since Russia sees the conditions imposed by the EU as unacceptable.
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