EurActiv: Russian EU lobby irked by Ukraine re-buying its gas for less money
Attempts by Ukraine to shed its dependence on Russian energy by organising reverse gas flows from EU countries have been met with strong reactions from the pro-Russia lobby in the EU, writes Roman Rukomeda.
Although officially the EU Institutions have once again opened an anti-trust probe against Gazprom, the initiatives by Ukraine to put in place reverse gas flows, the re-buying of Russian gas sold to other countries, may lead to another gas scandal with Russia on the eve of the new heating season.
Thanks to the efforts of Ukraine's leadership, talks on gas supply diversification have been followed by practical steps. On the basis of an agreement with the German company RWE on the reverse supply of gas, Ukraine has for the first time proved in practice that it can not only export gas but also import it from Europe if necessary.
In November last year, Ukraine began importing gas from Germany through the territory of Poland in line with arrangements with RWE. Germany benefits from lower gas prices than other European countries.