The Committee on Fuel and Energy Complex, Nuclear Policy and Nuclear Safety held committee hearings entitled "On the status of Ukraine's fulfilling obligations under the Protocol on the accession of Ukraine to the Energy Community, ratified by the Law of Ukraine of December 15, 2010, No. 2787-VI"

Opening the hearings, the Committee's Chairperson Mykola Martynenko claimed that "Constant threat on the part of Russia to use "energy weapons" in order to achieve political goals in the form of limiting supply and transit of gas is a serious challenge not only for Ukraine but for the energy security of the EU. Reforming the energy sphere of Ukraine in the context of the European integration shall be carried out efficiently".      

In his words, applying European standards to Ukrainian legislation can considerably increase Ukraine's immunity to attempts to politicize international relations in the energy sphere.   

M.Martynenko stressed that since the last Committee hearings, the Verkhovna Rada has adopted important laws regulating support and development of Ukrainian energy sphere. 

He drew attention to the fact that it is important to liberalize the natural gas market in order to implement EU directives in the sphere of the market's functioning. 

The Committee's Chairperson claims the adaptation of Ukrainian legislation to the EU energy legislation in the sphere of oil industry is of high priority.

The people's deputy emphasized that the role of the parliaments of Energy Community member states is constantly increasing. "In June 2014, the Energy Community Secretariat organized the second meeting of MPs of the Energy Community member states – friends of the Community".

M.Martynenko reminded that parliamentary committees joining parliament members of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia organized a conference on September 6-7 in Budva entitled "Parliamentary control over energy policy and investments into energy sphere in the countries of Western Balkans".

According to the participants, obligations under the Second Energy Package, implementation of which was to be carried out by January 1, 2012, have been fulfilled partially. Terms of implementing the Third Energy Package have not been established.  

It was also stressed that Ukraine has new challenges connected with the Russian aggression against our country, including the threat to the energy security.

According to the participants of the hearings, despite adopting the Law "On amendments to several laws of Ukraine re reforming the management system in the single gas transportation system of Ukraine", reserving capacities require further improvement in accordance with the Energy Community demands.     

The speakers said that accelerating accession of Ukraine to the energy system ENTSO-E is an important step towards harmonizing rules of export of electric power according to a provision of the Regulation No. 1228.

The participants of the hearings decided to recommend that Cabinet of Ministers:

update the status of Ukraine's fulfilling obligations under the Protocol on the accession of Ukraine to the Energy Community;

improve coordination of actions of central executive bodies, who are responsible for elaboration of regulatory legal acts, to meet the requirements of the Energy Community;

introduce specific mechanisms of cooperation with experts of the Energy Community in the process of implementing the legislation of Ukraine.  

It was also decided to address the Cabinet of Ministers with a proposal to instruct respective ministries and departments with the following.

In the sphere of electric power:

to accelerate implementing measures on integration of the Joint Electric Power System of Ukraine to the Union of Central European Electric Network according to the requirements of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E);

to recommit the Law "On Principles of Functioning of the Electricity Market of Ukraine"; 

to refine the legislation in the sphere of ensuring competitive conditions of producing electric energy from alternative sources. 

In the sphere of oil and gas:  

to continue elaboration of regulatory and legal acts in order to implement the Directive 2009/73/ЕС and the Regulation №715/2009;  

to accelerate elaboration of legislation on minimum reserves of oil and/or oil products;  

to examine the issue on elaboration of a new bill on the principles of functioning of the natural gas market which complies with the requirements of the Third Energy Package;

to initiate elaboration of the draft law of Ukraine on the LNG-terminal. 

In the sphere of the environmental protection:

to ensure adopting state standards on the limit content of sulfur in some kinds of liquid fuel and a requirement to the content of sulfur in heavy fuel oils, marine fuels, and diesel fuel oils according to the Directive 1999/32/ЕС;     

to accelerate adopting the Conception of the State Target Programme for the control of emissions of some pollutants from big combustion plants.