"It goes without saying that all energy projects in the EU must be in line with EU legislation and we are convinced that the intergovernmental agreement on South Stream between Slovenia and Russia, which is still in force, fulfills this obligation," the minister said, asked if it was still possible to revive the South Stream project.
Karl Erjavec also mentioned that Russia "has been a reliable gas provider for Slovenia for decades" and expressed his confidence this would continue to be the case.
The South Stream gas pipeline was intended to traverse the Black Sea to deliver Russian natural gas through Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia to Italy and Austria to avoid exporting gas through the territory of Ukraine.
The European Commission was against the implementation of the South Stream as the project was allegedly in breach of the EU third energy package, under which one and the same company cannot own the gas and operate the pipeline. On December 1, 2014, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would halt the implementation of the South Stream.
In June, Putin said that Russia has not abandoned the South Stream gas pipeline and awaits an unambiguous decision by the European Commission.
