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EU experts to discuss Russian gas supplies at a meeting on April 8

BRUSSELS, April 07. /ITAR-TASS/. The EU Gas Coordination Group is going to meet in Brussels on Tuesday, April 8, to discuss Russian gas deliveries to the European Union, EU Commissioner for Energy Gunther Oettinger told Itar-Tass on Monday.

He said that Ukraine’s parliament-appointed Energy Minister Yuri Prodan and the leadership of Naftogaz Ukrainy Company would also attend a roundtable meeting on gas problems in Brussels on Tuesday, April 8.

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Russia never uses gas supplies as weapon - expert

The EU Gas Coordination group was set up in 2006 to implement EU’s directive 2004/67 designed to take measures at a European level to ensure regular gas supplies. The group led by the European Commission consists of representatives of EU member states; European organizations working in the gas sector and representatives of consumer society. The group meets regularly (at least 4 times a year) to exchange information and adopt measures designed to strengthen the safety of gas supplies.

The January 2009 gas crisis demonstrated that stable and safe gas supplies to the EU required for a more coordinated European approach. The crisis also showed the important role of gas storage reservoirs and the use of reverse opportunities as a short-term reaction to interruption of gas supplies. Meanwhile, the European Commission is encouraging Ukraine and Slovakia to sign a memorandum on reverse gas supplies, according to Gunther Oettinger’s spokesperson Sabina Berger.

She said the companies concerned should sign the memorandum, which provided an opportunity for increasing the safety of gas supplies to Ukraine. However, Berger denied allegations that Poland and Hungary were carrying out reverse deliveries of gas to Ukraine. The European Commission has taken into consideration Gazprom’s decision to increase gas prices for Ukraine but believes that they should be based on stable and predictable terms.

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