The Energy Community Secretariat has said that Ukraine should immediately remove restrictions on the domestic natural gas market.

"The recently adopted decrees of the Cabinet of Ministers, No. 596 of November 7 and No. 647 of November 26, 2014… violate Energy Community law and the Secretariat insists on their immediate removal," the organization's press service reported.

According to the report, the Ukrainian government's actions harm the country's reputation.

"The Secretariat has repeatedly offered its full assistance in creating Treaty compliant legislation, which would be in line with all basic principles of a gas market legal framework and at the same time take into account the emergency situation in Ukraine. The Secretariat prepared and submitted to the Ukrainian authorities a draft gas law which included – inter alia - provisions on safeguard measures. The law, in line with the Third Energy Package, should be adopted as soon as possible," reads the report.

The Energy Community said that any preferential treatment granted in favor of state-owned companies, as well as public service obligations imposed on private companies, must be justified by clearly defined reasons of public security, proportionate to achieve the objectives pursued, temporary in nature, and not be discriminatory.

As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers, in its decree No. 596 of November 7, obliged large gas consumers to buy gas exclusively from Naftogaz Ukrainy from December 1, 2014 to February 28, 2015. The list of consumers includes 90 enterprises. Gas distribution and transmission companies were obliged to transport gas to these enterprises in this period only from the Naftogaz resources.