Question concerning the construction of the Hungarian section of the South Stream gas pipeline, with particular regard to the EU directives on the gas market
10.7.2008
WRITTEN QUESTION E-4195/08
by András Gyürk (PPE‑DE)
to the Commission
On 28 February 2008, Hungary and Russia signed the ‘cooperation agreement on construction of a gas pipeline to transport gas across the territory of the Republic of Hungary’. The Agreement concerns construction of the Hungarian section of the South Stream pipeline and will be in force for at least 30 years. According to the Agreement, a joint enterprise with a 50‑50 ownership share will be established in Hungary, under Hungarian law, by the two founders — the Hungarian Development Bank and Gazprom PLC — to construct the Hungarian section of the pipeline.
Does the Commission consider that, pursuant to Directive 2003/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas, the pipeline described in the Agreement qualifies as a ‘transmission system’ and the company which is to be registered under Hungarian law as a ‘transmission system operator’? Does the Commission think that Article 18 of the directive should be applied to the pipeline described in the Agreement? Article 7 of the Agreement states that ‘The company shall determine the charges for the gas supply services provided by the pipeline. This shall fall within the exclusive competence of the company.’ In the Commission’s opinion, is this provision consistent with the provisions of the directive and in particular with Article 18 of the directive? According to the Agreement, ‘the Russian founder shall have utilisation rights for the total capacity of the pipeline.’ Does the Commission think that this provision is consistent with the directive? Did the Hungarian Government request a derogation from the provisions of the directive concerning third party access before signing this provision, which is legally binding? If not, was the Hungarian Government acting in accordance with the directive when it signed and approved the Agreement?
OJ C 40, 18/02/2009