South Stream: from debates to dialogue?

Last Friday, the European Commission and Russia made a big step forward towards finding a compromise in the South Stream project. EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said that there was no need to review intergovernmental agreements between Russia and European countries participating in the project. An agreement to establish a working group on legal and technical issues was reached as well. The director of the Center for Global Energy Markets of the Energy Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vyacheslav Kulagin, and an expert of Vestnik Kavkaza, Andrey Petrov, commented on the recent developments.Vyacheslav Kulagin said that the requirements of the European Commission to revise or even cancel intergovernmental agreements were initially invalid, since the agreements are in the jurisdiction of international law. According to international law, such agreements cannot be affected by domestic or EU laws.Andrey Petrov highlights the importance of establishing a joint group on legal and technical issues. "The fact that Russia and the European Commission have finally begun working on the South Stream project and its overall organization, shows the desire of the EU to move from confrontation to compromise," Petrov said.Vyacheslav Kulagin also noted that "On the one hand, Europe needs low gas prices and competition among projects that operate in the EU, including the pipeline ones. On the other hand, Gazprom needs assurances that the gas will be purchased under predictable prices and that investments that Gazprom is going to invest in the construction of European facilities will not be lost in the future."Last Friday, the European Commission and Russia made a big step forward towards finding a compromise in the South Stream project. EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said that there was no need to review intergovernmental agreements between Russia and European countries participating in the project. An agreement to establish a working group on legal and technical issues was reached as well. The director of the Center for Global Energy Markets of the Energy Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vyacheslav Kulagin, and an expert of Vestnik Kavkaza, Andrey Petrov, commented on the recent developments.
Vyacheslav Kulagin said that the requirements of the European Commission to revise or even cancel intergovernmental agreements were initially invalid, since the agreements are in the jurisdiction of international law. According to international law, such agreements cannot be affected by domestic or EU laws.
Andrey Petrov highlights the importance of establishing a joint group on legal and technical issues. "The fact that Russia and the European Commission have finally begun working on the South Stream project and its overall organization, shows the desire of the EU to move from confrontation to compromise," Petrov said.
Vyacheslav Kulagin also noted that "On the one hand, Europe needs low gas prices and competition among projects that operate in the EU, including the pipeline ones. On the other hand, Gazprom needs assurances that the gas will be purchased under predictable prices and that investments that Gazprom is going to invest in the construction of European facilities will not be lost in the future."