The first expert roundtable entitled “Ukraine’s Gas Market: Europeanization and the Russian Factor” was held in Kyiv
The first expert roundtable entitled “Ukraine’s Gas Market: Europeanization and the Russian Factor” was held in Kyiv on October 14. The event was initiated by the NGO “Centre UA” and the Civil Expert Council within the Ukrainian Part of the EU-Ukraine Cooperation Committee with support of the European Program of the International Renaissance Foundation and the US Agency for International Development.
The roundtable was attended by the civil council’s energy experts, representatives of think tanks, NGOs, the EU Delegation to Ukraine and international institutions.
Options for the development of Ukraine’s gas market were the center of discussion. The experts proposed two models: 1) the “Belarusian scenario” that would see Naftogaz Ukrainy merging with Gazprom; and 2) the “European rules, Russian ownership, Ukrainian company scenario.” The experts concluded that the second option is better for Ukraine because it has a positive long-term impact in the form of greater competitiveness on the gas market and more balanced prices. In this situation a Russian company or companies will own assets on the territory of Ukraine, but will be governed by the Third Energy Package.
The participants of the expert roundtable believe that only European rules can protect the interests of consumers and gas suppliers and help maintain stable cooperation with Russia. It was also noted that reorganizing Naftogaz Ukrainy is not a reason to revisit the terms of existing gas contract with Russia and should not affect the revision of previous agreements with Gazprom.
Civic Expert Council
Lyubov Akulenko
(+38 044) 254 63 09
liubov.akulenko@gmail.com
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Goal of the European Program is to promote Ukraine’s European integration by providing financial and expert support to relevant civil society initiatives.
