12th Gas Forum pushes for further regional market integration

The Forum underlined that more efforts are required to integrate EU Member State and Contracting Party gas markets. Progress hinges in particular on the swift implementation of EU gas network codes in the Energy Community as well as improving the transparency and harmonisation of gas interconnection tariffs.

The Forum voiced concerns about cross-border gas trade between EU Member States and Contracting Parties being hampered by above average entry/exit charges at certain interconnection points, in particular from Member States to Contracting Parties, and called for increased transparency with respect to tariff-setting methodologies. Moreover, the Forum underlined that high interconnection tariffs coupled with missing or insufficient interconnection capacities and legacy contracts may prevent the region from benefitting from the LNG glut.

The Forum highlighted that the realisation of competing transit infrastructure projects bypassing Ukraine could actually deteriorate the security of supply of the Energy Community Contracting Parties as well as certain EU Member States.

Director of the Energy Community Secretariat Janez Kopač stressed: “Today, we had a very open debate about the Contracting Parties’ implementation of their obligations under the Energy Community Treaty. This was in particular the case of the debate on Ukraine as a transit country of Russian gas. We are of the opinion that Ukraine’s perspective for remaining a key gas transit country after 2019 is subject to the country’s effective implementation of the Third Energy Package as well as on enforcing the rule of law.”

“We believe that Ukraine will have a transit role in the future, perhaps with a somewhat different configuration. Nevertheless, the Energy Community – and the Secretariat - will continue to provide its assistance, including to potential EU transmission system operators, so that the transit of gas via Ukraine is not halted,’’ Mr Kopač added.