Ukraine accession to European energy community approved

The Energy Community Ministerial Council on Friday said it approved the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the energy community, contingent on the enactment of legislative reforms in the gas sector. The European Energy Community treaty entered into force in 2006 and established a single regulatory framework for trading energy across southeast Europe and the European Union on the same terms. It covers electricity, natural gas and petroleum products. Current participants in the treaty are the EU, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo. Yegor Samusenko: We deem Ukrainian membership in the Energy Community unlikely in the short-term. The reason is in gas transportation: the state seems neither interested in an independent gas transit system operator nor in liberalizing local gas distribution. On the other side, the Energy Community Council’s decision is a sign of confidence in the quality of Ukrainian electricity sector regulators. In the mid-term, which means there would be no political obstacles in developing electricity exports from Ukraine and that cheap loans might become available from the EU for modernization of the Ukrainian electricity sector.