According to statements made on Thursday, the European Commission has found that all bilateral agreements made between Russia and a number of states in the region are in violation of EU law, and ought to be renegotiated. Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, and Austria have all signed agreements with Russia concerning the South Stream gas pipeline, as has Republika Srpska.
Speaking during a gathering the European Parliament Director for Energy markets at the European Commission Klaus-Dieter Borchardt said the deals were “in breach of EU law and will have to be changed.”
“The Commission has looked into these intergovernmental agreements and came to the conclusion that none of the agreements is in compliance with EU law,” Borchardt said.
“That is the reason why we have told these states that they are under the obligation, either coming from the EU treaties, or from the Energy Community treaty, that they have to ask for re-negotiation with Russia, to bring the intergovernmental agreements in line with EU law,” he added, warning that, unless the contracts are revised, the countries he mentioned “would have to denounce their agreements with Russia.”
It was not immediately clear how this decision would affect the impending start of pipeline construction in Republika Srpska.
