Ladies and gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to address the Opening Ceremony of Gazprom Representative Office in Brussels. Let me express my gratitude to the organisers of the event for the possibility to say a few words.
The importance of this long-awaited step should in no way be underestimated. Gazprom is one of the largest Russian companies and has a lasting history of commercial activity in the EU market – which is actually much longer than that of the Gazprom brand name itself. It delivers a quarter of the much-needed gas to consumers in the EU. The Russian company undertakes important efforts to further increase European energy security by investing significant financial resources in maintenance of existent pipelines and construction of new ones in order to diversify routes of supply of gas. These projects, worth billions of euros, are implemented in partnership with other European companies and contribute, inter alia, to fighting unemployment and overcoming the current economic crisis. It seems also appropriate to stress that these projects, though technically complicated, respond to most severe ecological and safety requirements.
The opening of the Office will allow to strengthen cooperation with Belgian partners of Gazprom, promote new mutually beneficial commercial projects and, of course, also improve significantly its interaction on the EU level.
Speaking of the EU level, I believe there is enough understanding here of the importance of energy resources for economic development of member states and of the necessity not only to develop a common energy policy and overcome fragmentation of energy markets, but also to share the risks inherent in the energy business between actors involved in exploration, production, transportation and distribution. A lot has already been done in this respect, but many challenges still exist. Proper response to these challenges requires a comprehensive approach which presupposes continuous consultations with all stakeholders. That is why all big energy companies are represented here in Brussels - the capital of Belgium, but also of the European Union, the role of which is steadily increasing. Now we may congratulate ourselves with the enlargement of the Brussels “club” of energy majors.
Today Gazprom becomes closer to the coordinating and decision-making centre represented by European Commission and, not least, by the European Parliament. This approximation (using EU newspeak) makes easier information exchange and will, on the one hand, allow Gazprom to monitor very attentively the evolution of EU approaches to different issues which are of interest to the Russian company, and on the other hand - provide European institutions with an additional valuable source of information on development of energy markets, on strategies, aims and needs of their reliable partner, Gazprom. I am convinced that such situation is mutually beneficial.
Finally, I would like to congratulate Gazprom once again with today’s event, which marks the completion of long thoughts about the expedience of opening an office in Brussels. I wish all the staff of the Office successful and fruitful work aimed at strengthening mutually beneficial Russia-EU relations.
