OREANDA-NEWS. October 15, 2012. Gunther Oettinger, EU Commissioner for energy, calls on EU members to help Moldova in its talks with Russia on the new gas supply contract.

According to foreign mass media he accused Russia of "pure blackmail and unacceptable behaviour” towards Moldova, which is demanded to leave the EU Energy Community. Gunther Oettinger called on EU members to work out “the common consolidated position” and “give a well-defined signal to Russia’s threats”.

According to him, it is obvious that if our country leaves the EU Energy Community, it indirectly discontinues its partnership with EU. Earlier, on September, 12, Energy Minister of Russia Alexandr Novak briefed to journalists that Russia would bring the gas price for Moldova down if our country denounced the Protocol of the Entry to the EU Energy Cooperation Agreement and settled the debt for gas to RF at an amount of USD4.1 bln. According to him? Moldova's implementing the third energy package of EU is unacceptable for Russia.

According to the package, energy concerns have to be separated by types of their activities, thus, energy transportation has to be separated from energy generation. Authorities of Moldova declared that our country is going to remain a member of the EU Energy Community but would request EU to postpone till 2020 the terms of the norms of the energy packages in the gas area Russia worries about. This delay is necessary to restructure Moldovagaz and solve all matters of providing protection to Russian investments.