REUTERS
The European Parliament (EP) has called European Union member states to avoid building new gas pipelines from Russia that bypass Ukraine, such as Nord Stream 2, and exploit fully the transit potential of Ukraine, according to an EU resolution passed on January 21.
The EP "welcomes the EU's active support and solidarity in the energy sphere, which allowed Russian gas deliveries to Ukraine to resume for the winter of 2015-2016; calls on the Member States to exploit fully the transit potential of Ukraine and to strengthen cooperation in order to secure the energy supply to both the EU and Ukraine, and to avoid the building of new pipelines bypassing Ukraine, in particular the development of the Nord Stream 2 project for the delivery of Russian gas to Europe, which could prove detrimental to the EU’s strategy for the diversification of energy sources and to EU law," the resolution reads.
The EP also supports the EU's intention to enhance full energy market integration with Ukraine through the Energy Community and to reduce energy dependency without overburdening private households," it says.
Earlier, CEO of the largest Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz of Ukraine Andriy Kobolev warned that if Nord Stream 2 was built, the Ukrainian route would cease to exist.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Russia's Gazprom, Shell, OMV and E.On. signed a shareholders' agreement early in September 2015 on a joint project company, which will be engaged in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin in person launched the construction of the Ukhta-Torzhok 2 pipeline, which is designed to pump gas through the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to the European Union, bypassing Ukraine.