Deutsche Welle: South Stream pipeline quarrels

Legal or not? A new Russian-European pipeline project has come to a screeching halt after intervention by the EU commission. To break an unlawful monopoly, it says - out of political motivation, say others.

Deals between the Russian natural gas giant Gazprom and seven European countries had already been signed when the EU commission stepped in: the treaties would breach EU law, which stipulates that a company may not function as a pipeline operator and hold a monopoly as a gas supplier at the same time.

As a result, EU energy commissioner Günther Oettinger is set to travel to Moscow in January for renewed talks with the Kremlin, on behalf of the six EU member states - Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria and Greece - as well as EU accession candidate Serbia.

In southern Russia, Bulgaria and Serbia, some first segments of the South Stream pipeline have already been installed. As early as by the end of 2015, Russian gas is scheduled to use the system to travel across the Black Sea into the EU. Its end points in the north are Austria and Hungary, its southern branch could, in the future, transport gas via Greece and the Adriatic into Italy.

"Not complying with competition rules"

"A gas pipeline is to work like a motorway for cars. Everyone may use it by paying according to tariff," says Marlene Holzner, spokeswoman for the EU energy commissioner. International treaties, however, wouldn't have provisions for that, "since [the pipeline's] entire capacity is used up by Gazprom itself," Holzner told DW.  MORE