EU Commissioner: Reverse gas supplies from Europe to Ukraine legitimate

EU Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger declares reverse gas supplies from the European Union to Ukraine to be fully legitimate.

Commenting on the accusations, laid by "Gazprom" against Ukraine on the illegality of such supplies, the European Commissioner said: "From the point of view of European legislation, gas can flow freely within the framework of the EU and the Energy Community. Nothing prevents the Member States from establishing the physical bi-directional capacities with the non-EU countries and selling gas outside the EU".

According to Commissioner Oettinger, virtual reverse flows are entirely consistent with the rules of the EU and the Energy Community. "They are one of the ways to optimize the supply and trade of gas within the internal market of the EU (and that of the Energy Community), and can be implemented as swaps between different buyers," he explained.

In this context, the European commissioner cited the example of how similar