Joint Press Statement
EU-Russia Permanent Partnership for Energy
12 December 2012, Nicosia
At the 7th EU-Russia Permanent Partnership Council on 12 December 2012 in
Nicosia, the Russian Minister for Energy, A. Novak, and the EU Commissioner
for Energy, G.H. Oettinger, reviewed EU –Russia energy relations on the eve of
the EU-Russia Summit which will take place on 21 December 2012 in Brussels.
The meeting was hosted by Minister Neoklis Sylikiotis, Minister of Commerce,
Industry and Tourism on behalf of the Cyprus Presidency. The participants
discussed current tasks to be carried out in the framework of the EU-Russia
Energy Dialogue in view of its further development.
Commissioner Oettinger and Minister Novak took note of the state of
implementation of existing agreements and MoUs between both sides during
2012. They welcomed the intensive work of the EU-Russia Gas Advisory Council
created in 2011 to assess the development of EU and Russian gas markets and
to provide independent recommendations for long-term EU-Russia gas
cooperation. Both sides discussed the changes in global and European gas
markets and noted the role of long-term contracts and investments for
ensuring energy security, predictability and transparency of supply.
They took note of the results of the meetings of the Thematic Group on Energy
Markets and Strategies, as well as of the first productive meeting of the
Nuclear Group. Both sides underlined the successful work in the Thematic
Group of Energy Efficiency and Innovation and noted the EU-Russia projects
presented in this context.
Both sides stressed the progress made in establishing a joint EU-Russia Energy
Roadmap until 2050 and their interest to pursue the discussions on the
outstanding issues with the aim of its finalisation.
Commissioner Oettinger and Minister Novak discussed infrastructure issues
and in this context welcomed the putting into service in October 2012 of the
second string of the Nordstream pipeline and noted the launch of the
Southstream project in December. They also exchanged views on cross-border
infrastructure maintenance and development, notably the extensions of
Nordstream and the Southstream project and the relevant regulatory
frameworks.
Both sides exchanged views on the principal aspects of the content of the draft
agreement on the operation of the power systems of the Baltic States, the
Russian Federation and Belarus and took note of the state of play of the
negotiations.
Both sides also noted the cooperation on oil matters as an important element
in EU-Russia energy relations.
Minister Novak and Commissioner Oettinger agreed on a work plan of the EURussia Energy Dialogue in 2013. In addition to the regular work in the different
Thematic Groups and the Gas Advisory Council, they agreed to put emphasis in
2013 on areas of common interest such as alternative uses for gas and on
further cooperation in the area of energy efficiency as contribution to the EURussia Partnership for Modernisation.