Ekathimerini: EU seeks compromise with Gazprom on South Stream gas-pipe plan

The Energy Community, a European Union policy group, said Russian gas exporter OAO Gazprom should strike a deal with the bloc on its planned South Stream pipeline to avoid wasting money on a project that falls foul of EU law.

Russia’s agreements to build South Stream with countries including Austria, Greece, Hungary and Serbia are unlawful, Dirk Buschle, deputy director of the Vienna-based group, said in the Serbian capital Belgrade. A compromise is possible, he said.

Gazprom in December vowed to continue construction of its South Stream pipe to Europe, saying EU legal concerns could be clarified as the project moved ahead. The bloc’s regulatory arm called on member states to renegotiate their intergovernmental deals with Russia on the venture, saying the accords breached EU law on pipeline management, third-party access and pricing.  MORE