​FURDUI AMENDMENT CANCELLED

The Moldovan Parliament has cancelled the amendment to the Law on natural gas, which concerns the payment of international transit transportation of the gas.

The draft decision on canceling was presented by Chairman of the parliamentary Standing Committee on Economy, Budget and Finance Stefan Creanga, who reminded that the amendment was introduced in 2014. Since July 2015 is came into force, which obliged Moldovan gas consumers to pay 320 million lei/year for the transit.

“The amendment is contrary to European directives. Its implementation negatively affected the National Energy Regulatory Agency’s work”, he said.

Creanga laid the blame for the amendment’s introduction on previous parliamentary committee for economy, members of which unanimously supported its introduction back in 2014 [among current MPs who were members of the previous committee are Communists Oleg Reidman and Oxana Domenti, as well as Socialists Igor Dodon and Zinaida Greceanii].

MP Reidman proposed to wait a little with the adoption of the law, saying that without having data about consequences, the Parliament risks damaging relations with gas suppliers.

“The natural gas transit is a part of agreement about its supply between Moldova and Russia. We have first of all to make sure that we will not complicate the negotiating process with the Russian supplier. At implementing the third EU energy package, we will have to come back to this amendment again”, he said.

However, the draft law on canceling the so-called Furdui’s amendment was unanimously supported.

Infotag’s dossier: The author of the given amendment in 2014 was LDPM deputy Simion Furdui. In an interview to Infotag he refuted accusations of additional costs, which have allegedly fallen on consumers’ shoulders. According to him, the amendment was based on provisions of the EU Second Energy Package. In his opinion, the canceling of the amendment will bother relations between the EU and Russia. “This amendment is necessary for subsequent dividing the Moldovagaz company in two separate enterprises – on transporting and on distribution of gas to consumers”, Furdui maintained.