Gazprom offered Moldova in exchange for cheaper gas to adjust the free trade agreement with the EU and postpone the energy market reforms agreed with Brussels - Financial Times.
The Financial Times writes about this, citing sources familiar with the course of the negotiations. The article titled “Gazprom offered Moldova new gas deal in exchange for weaker EU ties,” says that during negotiations this month, Gazprom told Moldovan officials that it would cut the price if the country was willing to amend its duty-free trade agreement with the EU. Gazprom also wanted Moldova to postpone the implementation of EU rules, which require liberalization of gas markets and increased competition. According to the Financial Times, two people briefed on the talks said the Kremlin views the gas talks as part of a broader political settlement with Moldova, after President Maia Sandu came to power last year and her staunchly pro-EU party won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in July this year. Market analysts have suggested that Russia is using Gazprom's position as the sole gas supplier to Moldova to put pressure on the Moldovan government, which has promised to steer out of Moscow's orbit and focus primarily on the West. This came amid a broader global gas crisis that has pushed market prices to record highs. Experts note that the liberalization of the gas market will have a negative impact on Gazprom and its subsidiary in Moldova, Moldovagaz, which owns and operates the country's gas network, as well as buys and sells gas. According to the Financial Times, Moscow would also prefer Moldova to abandon the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the EU and instead join the Eurasian Economic Union. Moscow believes that Moldova is within its sphere of influence, and considers itself a defender of the Russian-speaking population in the breakaway statelet of Transnistria, where it keeps a small military contingent. The Financial Times notes that the Moldovan government fears mass unrest this winter, either due to gas shortages or inevitably high prices for heating and energy. “The Russians are hitting the country at its weakest point, at the worst possible moment,” said one Moldovan official who participated in negotiations with Moscow. Today, Moldovan officials will meet in St. Petersburg with Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller. According to the Financial Times, EU diplomats have urged the country not to sign a new long-term deal with the Russian company, but instead find short-term solutions to survive the winter. However, industry analysts question whether additional supplies from EU countries will be sufficient to supplant Russian gas exports to a country of 2.6 million, while spot market costs are likely to be prohibitively high without significant subsidies. // 27.10.2021 – InfoMarket
