BELGRADE (Serbia), May 13 (SeeNews) – The Energy Community may take legal action against Serbia over the country's failure to meet the conditions for construction of a gas pipeline from the border with Bulgaria to the border with Hungary, the Director of the Energy Community Secretariat, Janez Kopac, has said.
"Serbia's energy regulatory agency did not respect some of our exemption rules and the project is going forward," Kopac said in a video file posted on the website of Tanjug news agency last week.
The Energy Community is currently in talks with Serbia's energy ministry on the introduction of some additional measures that would help ensure the free competition on Serbia's natural gas market, Kopac added.
In March, Serbia's energy regulatory agency approved an exemption from the requirements of the European Union's Third Energy Package of the project for construction of an extension of Cazprom's TurkStream natural gas pipeline on Serbia's territory. In making the decision, the energy regulator took into account the opinion of the Energy Community on the exemption of the natural gas pipeline project, to be implemented by Gastrans company, from certain requirements of the Third Energy Package, it said back then.
Gastrans is 100%-owned by Swiss-based South Stream Serbia, according to data from Serbia's commercial register. Russia's Gazprom owns a 51% stake in South Stream Serbia, while state-owned Srbijagas holds the remaining 49%, according to Gazprom data.
In February, the Energy Community said Gastrans should offer on independent markets such as the South East European Power Exchange 30% of the natural gas it will receive through the future branch of the Turk Stream pipeline on its territory. The natural gas shall be offered on a quarterly basis and the price shall not be higher than the price defined in the long-term contract of the entity, the Energy Community said in a detailed opinion on the exemption.