UNIAN
EU states’ leaders have approved the creation of the Energy Union as proposed by the European Commission, and the unexpectedly quickly and unanimously made decision could prove to be fraut with problems for giant Russian gas company Gazprom.
The union is the strictest EU energy policy initiative to come since the Third Energy Package in 2009, which created a lot of problems for Russia, Russian newspaper Kommersant has reported.
The concept assumes that the EU will be entitled to directly influence commercial agreements on gas supplies, including contracts with Gazprom, which could further deteriorate the monopoly’s position in Europe. The first experience of such intervention in commercial negotiations by the EU came during the gas conflict between Russia and the Ukraine, and the experience was not a happy one for Gazprom.
The establishment of the Energy Union was the first topic considered by heads of the European countries during the EU summit on March 19-20. After the discussions, the concept suggested by the European Commission was approved without significant changes. In particular, the EC will be empowered to ensure there is "the full compliance of all agreements related to the purchase of gas from external suppliers with European legislation, in particular, by increasing the transparency of such agreements and their compatibility with the EU's energy security."
Appropriate audits will be carried out not only with respect to inter-governmental agreements, but also commercial contracts. At the same time, commercial information on gas contracts will not be disclosed, although a Slovak diplomat and the Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič offered to make public all the information regarding prices, terms and conditions of the gas supplies.
However, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland have been insisting on keeping the details of gas contracts as commercial secrets, according to Bloomberg.