EP in favour of reducing EU's dependency on Russian gas

Today the European Parliament adopted a report on assessing and setting priorities for EU relations with the Eastern Partnership countries. During the plenary vote the MEPs adopted an oral amendment presented by Polish EPP Group MEPs Krzysztof Lisek and Paweł Zalewski condemning the South Stream project as contrary to the interests of the EU.

The European Parliament considers that the implementation of the South Stream project will cause further dependence of the European Union on Russian gas supplies and would thus be contrary to the goal of ensuring energy security.

"At the last minute, and despite opposition from the liberals, we managed to adopt the amendment. The construction of the South Stream pipeline should be ruled out because it threatens EU's energy security. The European Commission also suspended talks with Russia regarding the permits necessary for the operation of the pipelines in EU member states. In recent years, the example of Poland shows that diversification of gas suppliers is the key to success in relations with Russia - blackmail is no longer an option. Europe should establish a system of joint gas purchases", said Krzysztof Lisek MEP, vice-chair of the security and defence committee, after the vote.

"The EP decision is consistent with the argumentation of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who in the ongoing discussions with European partners underlines that the current level of dependence of the EU on Russian gas limits its sovereignty", said Paweł Zalewski MEP, vice-chair of the international trade committee.

The EP move is particularly important in the context of Russian aggression in Crimea. Kremlin breaks good neighborly relations by using all opportunities in order to maximize its own interests .