Ukraine has been the main transit route for Russian gas to the EU market for a long time. Although this role has been declining since the diversion of part of the flow towards the Nord Stream pipeline, in 2017 the Ukrainian route still accounted for 84.3 bcm of Russian gas export to Europe, or 24% of EU gas imports. However, Ukraine’s transit role is increasingly called into question due to the envisaged development of alternative transit infrastructures, such as the Nord Stream expansion and the Turk Stream pipeline. Negotiations between Gazprom and Naftogaz concerning the post-2019 transit are still ongoing with the mediation of the EU, which has repeatedly underlined its preference for maintaining a gas transit role for Ukraine for energy security reasons.

This Policy Dialogue, organised with the kind support of Naftogaz, reflected on the prospects for the continuation of gas transit through Ukraine, its relevance for the EU’s energy security, including how further developments could have an impact on the regional geopolitical landscape and possible international ramifications.

Speakers included: Carl Bildt, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, Nicole Gibson, Deputy Director, European Energy Diplomacy, U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Energy Resources, Kirsten Westphal, Senior Associate, SWP, Yuriy Vitrenko, Executive Director, Naftogaz, Olena Zerkal, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.