EU Commission's Decision on Opal Pipeline Disagrees With EU-Ukrainian Treaty

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that the decision of the European Commission to expand Russia’s energy giant Gazprom access to the Opal gas pipeline's capacity did not comply with the spirit of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU and the Energy Community Treaty.

KIEV (Sputnik) — The decision of the European Commission to expand Russia’s energy giant Gazprom access to the Opal gas pipeline's capacity is not in the spirit of the EU-Ukraine energy treaty, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Thursday, according to his press service.

"The Head of State emphasized that the decision of the European Commission to expand access of Gazprom to the Opal pipeline did not comply with the spirit of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU and the Energy Community Treaty," Poroshenko's press service quoted him as saying in a phone conversation with EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn.

In October, the European Commission expanded Gazprom's access to the Opal gas pipeline by additional 40 percent.

The Opal pipeline connects the Nord Stream pipeline with Europe’s gas transportation network. However, European restrictions permit Gazprom only 50 percent of the pipeline for Russian natural gas to be delivered across Germany to the Czech Republic. The restrictions are outlined in the European Union’s Third Energy Package which reserves the other half for independent gas suppliers.