General interest
| feature story
lunii mai 3,2 miliarde de dolari, prima tranşă dintr-un ajutor internaţional în valoare de 27 de miliarde de dolari destinat echilibrării finanțelor publice. La rândul lor, oficialii de la Kiev cer companiei Gazprom aproape 800 de milioane de dolari, în contul unor taxe de export reintroduse în aprilie, ca răspuns la majorarea unilaterală a prețurilor de către gigantul rus. Scutirea de la taxa de export fusese acordată în 2010, în cadrul unui acord în care Ucraina a prelun-
git termenul de închiriere a bazei din Crimeea pentru flota de la Marea Neagră a Rusiei din 2017 până în 2042, în schimbul gazelor mai ieftine. Imediat după anexarea Crimeei, guvernul de la Moscova a anunţat că închirierea nu mai este necesară, astfel că nici reducerile de preț la gazele livrate Ucrainei nu se mai aplică. Ca urmare, Gazprom a majorat unilateral preţul cu 81%, la 485 de dolari pentru o mie de metri cubi, cel mai mare preț impus unei ţări europene. Ucraina importă din Rusia peste jumătate din consumul propriu de gaze şi încearcă să renegocieze un contract din 2009, încă dinainte de izbucnirea protestelor populare la Kiev, în noiembrie 2013. La rândul său, Europa importă 30% din necesarul
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the authorities and the public opinion received almost without reaction the eastern secessionist actions, openly supported by Russia. Attempts to restore order in the eastern cities have resulted in many casualties, shameful withdrawals or surrenders and few successes. Day by day, however, the events have boosted among the Ukrainian population a diffuse feeling of rejection of the pro-Russian option. Gas price lever Gazprom President Aleksei Miller has announced that gas supplies to Ukraine would be ceased as of June 3rd if the officials in Kiev did not start paying in advance. The Russian company accuses delays in the payment of gas supplied in 2013 and in the first four months this year, amounting to USD 3.51bn. Moreover, a secretary of state in the Russian Energy Ministry has condemned the fact that Ukraine hadn’t used the funds received from the international financiers to pay its debts. The Ukrainian state received in early May USD 3.2bn, the first installment of an international aid worth USD 27bn, to balance the public finances. In turn, officials in Kiev are asking Gazprom nearly USD 800mln, on the account of export duties reintroduced in April, in response to a unilateral price increase by the Russian giant. Exemption from export duty had been granted in 2010, under an agreement in which Ukraine has extended the rental term of the base in Crimea for Russia’s Black Sea fleet from 2017 until 2042, in exchange for cheaper gas. Immediately after the annexation of Crimea, the government in Moscow announced that rental was no longer necessary, so discounts on gas delivered to Ukraine no longer applied. Therefore, Gazprom has unilaterally increased gas prices by 81%, to USD 485/TCM, the highest price imposed to europeancountry. Ukraine imports from Russia more than half of its gas consumption and has been trying to renegotiate a contract from 2009 since before the outbreak of popular protests in Kiev in November 2013. EU solution for resolving the gas conflict In turn, Europe imports 30% of its gas demand from Russia, and half of this amount transits Ukraine, so the Union’s energy security depends on the sta-