EU laws might apply "partially" to South Stream

The "South Stream" pipeline could set a precedent for the partial application of European legislation to the export activities of "Gazprom," the director of the Center for Global Energy Markets of the Energy Research Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vyacheslav Kulagin said commenting on the European Commission warning about the possibility of stopping the implementation of the gas project. Recently the energy department has stated that the "South Stream" will not operate on the territory of the European Union if it does not comply with EU laws.Kulagin explained that, despite the statement, the parties are conducting negotiations and are hoping to find a compromise. The expert reminded about negotiations between the North Stream and Germany as an example of finding a compromise between the EU and "Gazprom."According to Kulagin, finding a compromise is inevitable: both parties are interested in the "South Stream": "We see that certain exceptions in this legislation are necessary. The negotiations will not be easy, since too many countries will be affected by this pipeline... I think it is likely that uniform rules will not apply to tyre whole of the "South Stream" and that each of its segments will have its own rules of operation and access to it," the expert said.The "South Stream" pipeline could set a precedent for the partial application of European legislation to the export activities of "Gazprom", the director of the Center for Global Energy Markets of the Energy Research Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vyacheslav Kulagin said commenting on the European Commission warning about the possibility of stopping the implementation of the gas project. Recently the energy department has stated that the "South Stream" will not operate on the territory of the European Union if it does not comply with EU laws.
Kulagin explained that, despite the statement, the parties are conducting negotiations and are hoping to find a compromise. The expert reminded about negotiations between the North Stream and Germany as an example of finding a compromise between the EU and "Gazprom."
According to Kulagin, finding a compromise is inevitable: both parties are interested in the "South Stream": "We see that certain exceptions in this legislation are necessary. The negotiations will not be easy, since too many countries will be affected by this pipeline... I think it is likely that uniform rules will not apply to tyre whole of the "South Stream" and that each of its segments will have its own rules of operation and access to it," the expert said.