BRUSSELS (EU press service) — Yesterday, EU commissioner Maroš Šefčovič had a meeting with Minister Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak. He informed him about this week’s Commission decision to obtain from the Council a mandate to negotiate with Russia the rules of operation on Nord Stream2, reiterating at the same time the political and legal concerns about the project. The Russian Minister took note and stressed that Russia needed to assess it, subject to the position of Member States. They agreed to continue the discussion in the coming weeks.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline will transport natural gas into the European Union to enhance security of supply, support climate goals and strengthen the internal energy market.

In this context, they discussed also the need for continuation of gas transit via Ukraine for the post 2019 period. The Stockholm arbitrage coming to an end should provide clarification on the outstanding issues. The EU commissioner confirmed the interest of EU companies to work with Ukrainian partners on a safe and commercially viable gas transit via this country in the future. They agreed that talks on the commercial aspect of the transit should be resumed at company level as soon as possible.

Minister Novak informed Maroš Šefčovič about the interest of various European companies about Southern transportation routes of Russian gas, expressed during the last St Petersburg forum and enquired about the EU position. Šefčovič stated to consult these issues with all interested countries and parties and to return to it at the next meeting.

Finally, Maroš Šefčovič informed Minister Novak about the planned synchronisation of the Baltic countries with the EU electricity network. He reassured the Minister that Russia would be kept duly informed and involved to ensure a smooth process for all parties concerned.