MOSCOW, 3 February (BelTA) – The agreement on the common market of natural gas of the Eurasian Economic Union is not completely ready for now, BelTA learned from Iya Malkina, a spokeswoman of the Eurasian Economic Commission, on 3 February.
According to the source, on 2 February the energy ministers of the Eurasian Economic Union discussed fundamental differences of opinion regarding the draft international agreement on setting up the common gas market of the Eurasian Economic Union. Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission Mikhail Myasnikovich chaired the meeting. He said that although the agreement is supposed to be signed this year, the document is not completely ready for now. A number of fundamental issues have yet to be addressed. Participants of the meeting discussed each of them in order to work out compromise views.
In particular, the sides agreed to prepare and sign the international agreement on setting up the common market of natural gas as an addendum to the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty. “It is necessary for establishing single-level regulation of legal relations in the sphere of energy industry,” Iya Malkina pointed out.
Participants of the session agreed it is necessary to apply certain criteria for determining the commercial entities, which may trade on the union's common natural gas market. The criteria will be specified by the rules on trade in natural gas on the common market. The rules will be developed by 2023.
Russia together with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan agreed to arrange additional consultations for working out concrete proposals as far as gas transportation from third countries for domestic consumption is concerned. Work on setting the prices and tariffs as well as on the effect of bilateral international agreements in the sphere of gas will continue at the level of experts and heads of authorized bodies of the Eurasian Economic Union member states.
