Putin’s pipeline drives wedge between EU and Balkan hopefuls

FYR Macedonia became the latest Western Balkan country to receive a stark warning on the implications of building Russia’s South Stream gas pipeline for its European Union's future.

Janez Kopac, the head of the European Energy Community (EEC), said on 23 October 2014 that Skopje’s South Stream agreement with Moscow was “not in compliance” with EU energy law. He noted that as an EEC treaty signatory it has “a legally binding commitment to implement these rules”.

The EEC’s Kopac spoke after a senior Gazprom executive met with Macedonian energy officials in Skopje earlier the same day. Both sides voiced confidence the branch line would go ahead as planned.

The EU says South Stream's current model - in which Russian firm Gazprom owns at least 51 percent and controls both production and distribution - goes against EU laws designed to stop monopolies from inflating prices.

ESO: Background information: Bulgaria suspends South Stream gas pipeline project / South Stream ‘Plan B’ opts for route through Greece and Turkey http://www.europeansources.info/record/bulgaria-suspends-south-stream-gas-pipeline-project-south-stream-plan-b-opts-for-route-through-greece-and-turkey/

ESO: Background information: Serbia refuses to join EU sanctions on eve of Putin parade http://www.europeansources.info/record/serbia-refuses-to-join-eu-sanctions-on-eve-of-putin-parade/

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