Belarus wants 1st stage of EAEU's common natural gas market creation finished in 2020

Minsk, October 12 – Neftegaz.RU. The 1st stage of establishment of the common natural gas market of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) has to be finished in 2020. Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko made the statement at a session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council on 9 October, BelTA has learned.

Golovchenko said: “We believe that the establishment of common energy markets in the EAEU while ensuring non-discriminatory approaches to pricing, tariffs, access to services of natural monopolies is a task of paramount importance for creating a genuine economic union."

"I would like to remind you that in line with the program on establishing the common natural gas market the 1st stage of this work – the development of methods and the organizational framework – has to be completed this year”, Golovchenko noted.

He said the EAEU member states should work harder on the remaining draft documents by the end of the year. In his words, in the current geopolitical situation caused not only by the coronavirus infection but by a number of other factors the world once again sees an increase in national protectionism, restrictions on transfer of cutting-edge technologies, the intention of the most developed countries to preserve their dominating stance to the detriment of developing countries and transition economy countries.

The EAEU was established on May 29, 2014. The members of the union are the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and the Kyrgyz Republic. Energy dialogue forms an important part of this union. Currently, the parties aim to conclude the formation of the common energy market by 2025.