The European Energy Community has rejected Kyiv's criticism concerning its lack of a position on diversification, in particular the South Stream gas pipeline, and censured Kyiv for the non-fulfillment of its commitments under the Energy Community Treaty.

Energy Community Director Janez Kopac said this in a comment sent to Interfax-Ukraine.

According to him, any additional energy source and energy route is welcome in terms of improving the security of supply and increasing competition.

However, no project should entirely wipe out its competitors, Kopac said. With any such project, one always has to balance two opposing public interests - security of supply and competition, he added.

"Here, the rules of the Third Energy Package play a key role. When South Stream complies with the principles of this Package, it will undoubtedly be a most welcome project. As the Energy Community Secretariat, we have sent letters to Serbia, Croatia and Macedonia regarding their Inter-Governmental Agreements with the Russian Federation related to South Stream outlining their non-compliance with the Energy Community Treaty legal framework. This clear violation of the existing legal framework is hindering the realization of the project," he said.

Speaking about the gas supplies from Slovakia to Ukraine, Kopac noted that the European Commission had been directly involved in trying to improve the reverse gas flow capacities.

"The existing legal solution between Ukraine and the Russian Federation seems not to allow for virtual reverse gas flows from Slovakia to Ukraine, but physical reverse flows should be possible with only a few adjustments," he said.

At the same time, the Energy Community director criticized Ukraine for non-fulfillment of the Energy Community Treaty.

"Ukraine, above all, should improve its poor record of implementation of the Energy Community Treaty. The Energy Community is not only about the privileges but also is an organization with a set of obligations. The faster Ukraine starts to behave in line with its commitments, the stronger and healthier its entire energy sector will become," he said.

On November 7, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Yuriy Boiko criticized the Energy Community's position concerning the diversification of gas supplies and the South Stream gas pipeline. "We're very unhappy with the position of the Energy Community concerning the diversification, or more precisely the lack thereof," he said.