According to Russian media, the Russian government has decided to sue the European Union over the Third Energy Package before the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The news was reported by the press agency ITAR-TASS on 30 April 2014 (link 1 and link 2). According the source, Russia has sent a note to the EU Mission to the WTO after having notified the WTO Secretariat that it wanted to launch the law suit against the EU (normal procedure). More official press releases are not yeat available, neither from the European Commission nor the WTO.
This new move does not come as a surprise, as the issue of conformity of the third energy package adopted in 2009 by the EU to WTO rules was already discussed by Russia. A previous complaint was already brought by Russia in 2013 over EU energy adjustments (see press article by RT here). It must be seen as a direct follow-up of the opening of anti-trust investigation against Gazprom in September 2012 (see press release EC). The provisions on unbundling of transmission system operators and the certification requirements for TSOs and third countries have been core issues of dispute between the EU and Russia.
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