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.