EU Seeks Ukraine Gas Deal by Summer
Russia has agreed three-month extension of price discount. European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic aims to conclude talks with Ukraine and Russia by the summer to ensure security of gas supply for next winter and beyond, he said on Tuesday. Summer in Brussels is considered to begin when the European institutions take holiday in August. Ukraine, the transit route for around half of the gas Russia pumps to the European Union…
Hope and Obstacles as Russia and Ukraine Seek Gas Deal
A tentative agreement between the Ukrainian and Russian presidents has raised hopes of ending a dispute in which Moscow has halted natural gas supplies to Kiev, but several obstacles still have be overcome. Movement on the gas row was the only sign of progress at talks between Vladimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko on Friday which failed to resolve differences over fighting in eastern Ukraine and a deep crisis in relations.
Ukraine Gas Talks to Resume on Tuesday
A new round of trilateral talks bringing together Ukraine, Russia and the European Commission to try to solve a gas pricing row will take place next Tuesday in Brussels, not Berlin, the EU's energy chief said. The talks had previously been expected to be held in Berlin, but European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said on Thursday that the Russian and Ukrainian energy ministers would meet with the Commission in Brussels on Oct. 21.
EU: Obtain Gas Supplies if Russia Shuts Valve
EU authorities should be ready to intervene to secure gas supplies in the bloc in the event that the crisis over Ukraine leads to a major disruption of flows from Russia, the European Union's energy chief said on Thursday. Guenther Oettinger unveiled the results of "stress tests" conducted across the 28 member states to work out how vulnerable Europe is to a supply cut from Russia ahead of winter. "If we work together…
EU Trade Nominee Weighs Investor Rights
Issue of investor protection dominates new trade chief's hearing; Europeans fear clause will make U.S. companies too powerful. Malmstrom says Russia can't amend EU-Ukraine trade accord. The woman likely to become the EU's new trade chief sought to reassure lawmakers on Monday that U.S. companies will not be able to challenge Europe's safety and environmental rules if Brussels and Washington agree the world's biggest trade deal.
Russia: Ukraine's Winter Gas Problem May Have Been Solved
Russia's energy minister said after gas talks with Ukraine in Berlin on Friday that an interim deal mediated by the European Union could be the basis for a solution over the winter, though Russia would only supply Ukraine once pre-payments were made. Moscow would require partial payments of at least $2 billion by the end of October and another $1.1 billion by year end, said Energy Minister Alexander Novak, concurring with an outline of the deal by European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger.
EU Sees High Chance of Winter Gas Deal After Ukraine-Russia Talks
The European Union proposed a gas deal between Ukraine and Russia in Berlin on Friday that would guarantee Ukraine at least 5 billion cubic metres of gas for the next six months, European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said. Oettinger said there was a "very high chance" that all sides would agree to the interim deal to ensure Ukraine's gas supply over the winter, following the talks mediated by the EU. The…
Spot Prices Fall on More Supply, Less Demand
Central European day ahead power prices fell on Thursday, pulled lower by healthy renewables and nuclear supply as well as declining demand heading into the weekend, traders said. On regional exchanges, Czech and Slovak electricity for Friday both fell to 34.69 euros ($44.10) per megawatt hour, a drop of 4 percent and 17 percent respectively. In Slovakia, the return to the grid of a unit at the Mochovce nuclear power plant added to supply.
EU Pushes Winter Ukraine-Russia Gas Deal
Russia cut off Ukraine's supplies in June; Gazprom shipments to EU customers have wavered. deal would ideally ensure supplies over peak winter period. European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said he aimed to propose an interim solution to the gas price row between Russia and Ukraine at talks he is brokering in Berlin on Friday. If the mood of the talks is constructive, he said he hoped for a deal on gas supplies between now and April, to cover the peak demand winter season.
EC Suggests Russia, Ukraine Sign Interim Gas Deal
The European Commission will suggest that Russia and Ukraine sign an interim gas agreement in Berlin later this week, a way to start resolving a standoff over gas prices, Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said on Tuesday. He said the agreement would give an interim price for a specified amount of gas to be shipped to Ukraine. Russia, Ukraine and the European Commission are meeting in Berlin on Sept. 26 to try to resolve a gas row between Moscow and Kiev. Russia's Gazprom cut gas supplies to Ukraine in June.
EU Helping Ukraine with Slovak Gasline
Slovak link could meet 20 pct of Ukraine's gas demand. Long-term EU-Ukraine flows could meet 50 pct of Ukraine's demand. Germany plays key role in supplying Ukraine. Slovakia opened a pipeline on Tuesday able to deliver natural gas from the European Union to Ukraine, marking a major step in the bloc's efforts to aid the country in its escalating dispute with Russia. Opening up so-called reverse gas flows eastward…
EU: Gas Talks with Russia, Ukraine by mid-Sept
European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger told Reuters on Friday he expects the trilateral talks between Russia and Ukraine, brokered by the EU, to resume by mid-September. Oettinger has been in Moscow where he met Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak. Russia stopped supplying Ukraine with gas in June after the former Soviet republics failed to agree on gas price and debt. Around half of Russian gas exports to Europe flow via Ukraine. Reporting by Denis Pinchuk
Spot Prices Mixed, Hungary Day Ahead Falls
Czech and Slovak day ahead power rose on Thursday due to expectations for less solar supply in the region, while the expected return of a nuclear reactor drove Hungarian prices lower, traders said. On regional exchanges, Czech and Slovak electricity for Friday rose more than 3 percent to 36.59 euros ($48.17) per megawatt hour, while day ahead on Hungary's HUPX exchange fell about 13 percent to 42.69 euros. Hungary…
Greece Seeks EU Gas Backup Plan
Greece has asked the European Commission to set up a backup plan to ensure liquefied natural gas (LNG) is available for Balkan countries in the event of potential disruptions to Russian gas supplies stemming from the crisis in Ukraine. In a letter sent to European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger, Greek Energy Minister Yannis Maniatis proposed an EU emergency mechanism to ensure that surplus amounts of lower…
Russia, Ukraine, EU to Discuss Gas, Trade Problems
The presidents of Russia, Ukraine and the European Commission have agreed to hold talks on disputes over gas and an EU-Ukraine free trade agreement, in parallel with efforts to stabilise the security situation in Ukraine, the EU said on Thursday. The talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso are intended to be held in person, a European Commission source said, but it is not yet clear where or when.
Switzerland, EU Resume Talks on Single Energy Market
Swiss authorities said they had resumed talks with EU regulators on a cross-border energy market, which would help to improve security of the region's energy supply. Talks on incorporating Switzerland into EU plans for a single energy market were frozen early this year following a Swiss referendum vote to curtail immigration. The Swiss Federal Department of Energy confirmed on Thursday that talks had resumed. "The negotiations have been taken up again and are still ongoing, i.e.
Russian Envoy: Gas Talks Planned, EU Unaware
Gas supplies to Ukraine cut off on June 16; European Commission has yet to announce date for talks. Officials from Russia, Ukraine and the European Union will discuss gas supplies on Sept. 12, the Interfax news agency quoted Russia's EU envoy, Vladimir Chizhov, as saying on Friday, but EU authorities said they knew nothing about the meeting. Chizhov was quoted as saying Russia had already made its suggestions known to Brussels for solving a standoff between Russia and Ukraine over gas prices.
EU Adopts Toughest Russian Sanctions Yet
The European Union formally adopted sanctions on Thursday curbing arms sales to Russia and cutting off financing for targeted banks over Moscow's support for rebels in Ukraine. Russia has denounced the measures, agreed by the 28 EU member states on Tuesday, as "destructive and short-sighted", while fighting has intensified in eastern Ukraine between Kiev forces and the pro-Russian separatists. EU officials say the sanctions aim to inflict maximum pain on Russia and minimum pain on the EU.
EU's Planned Sanctions Against Russia to Hit South Stream, Yamal LNG
The European Union's proposed sanctions against Russia, targeting sensitive technology, take aim at Gazprom's huge South Stream gas pipeline project to Europe and Novatek's Arctic Yamal liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility. A draft proposal outlines a package of targeted measures in the areas of access to capital markets, defence, dual use goods and sensitive technologies, EU diplomats said on condition of anonymity.
German Environment Agency Calls for Rules Preventing Fracking
Germany's Environment Agency said it wanted to make fracking practically impossible to head off the risk that the technique for extracting gas could contaminate groundwater with chemicals. The agency's view, in a report on Wednesday, feeds into a fierce debate about fracking as Chancellor Angela Merkel's government draws up new rules on water protection and mining, which will determine the future policy toward fracking. The report contained recommendations the agency will make to the government on the new rules.
