REUTERS
The company noted that the decision of the EU court to cancel Gazprom’s expanded access to the OPAL gas pipeline was a pleasant surprise for Ukraine.
The decision of the Europe's top Court to cancel the expanded access of Russian Gazprom to the OPAL pipeline, through which gas flows from the Nord Stream to Central European markets, was a pleasant surprise for Ukraine and could mean a change in Europe’s attitude toward the Russian monopoly, according to Naftogaz CCO Yuriy Vitrenko.
"The decision of the European Court on the unlawful lifting of restrictions on the use of the OPAL gas pipeline, which is a continuation of the Nord Stream, was a pleasant surprise," Vitrenko wrote on Facebook.
According to him, the court expressly points out that the principle of "energy solidarity" was not respected when extended access was provided to the gas pipeline.
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"I hope that all this is a sign of a gradual change in Europe’s attitude to Gazprom and Russia's use of gas as an instrument of political influence," Vitrenko wrote.
The Naftogaz senior manager said the test of this will be trilateral negotiations set to be held next week, as well as the European Commission’s consideration of the complaint of Naftogaz regarding abuse of the monopoly position by Gazprom.
As reported earlier, the European Court of Justice overruled an EU decision alloweing Russia's Gazprom to ship more gas via the Opal gas pipeline, which could force the Russian giant to use Ukraine's pipes more and strengthen Kyiv's position in gas negotiations with Moscow.