Austria's energy regulator will propose to the European
Commission the establishment of a European Union-controlled gas transit
operator in Ukraine to increase security of Russian gas supplies to Western Europe, its chief executive said Tuesday.
"I have written a draft, which will be sent to the European Commission,
outlining a proposal for a rearrangement of gas transit through Ukraine," E-Control Chief Executive Walter Boltz told
Dow Jones Newswires in an interview.
The proposal is a reaction to the gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine, which has caused a 90% reduction in the gas flow to
the Austria-based Central European Gas Hub, which serves as a distribution link
to a number of European countries.
"Now, gas imported from Russia to Western
Europe through Ukraine changes ownership at the Austrian border. With my
proposal, the ownership would change at the Russian-Ukrainian border,"
Boltz said.
This would make future disputes over transit of gas through Ukraine an E.U.-Ukrainian issue, rather than a
Ukrainian-Russian issue, thereby removing political tension between the two
countries from the equation, Boltz said.
The Austrian proposal envisions not only a strong E.U. hand in the transit
operator, but also the involvement of the International Monetary Fund and the
World Bank, Boltz said.