On 23 July 2020 experts of the EU4Energy Project held an online meeting on natural gas market reforms in the Republic of Belarus. From Minsk the meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Energy and “Beltopgaz”.

Prior to the meeting the comprehensive Report on Natural Gas Market Reform was submitted to the Ministry of Energy for consideration and comments. During the meeting discussion went around the main findings of the Report, comparative analysis of Belarus, EAEU and EU gas markets, and touched upon the most challenging issues for potential gas market reforms in Belarus. In particular, these issues included the choice of appropriate gas market model, problems of third party access, unbundling measures, development of regulation on gas pricing, guaranty of uninterrupted transit and security of supply, energy trading, role of supranational sectoral bodies. Number of recommendations were presented which could guide Belarus experts through the process of future market reforms.

Belarus experts expressed their appreciation for the cooperation on this activity with the EU4Energy Project team and exceptional work accomplished by the international expert.  It was also mentioned that the Report was submitted very much on time and helped in preparation of the document on gas market reform proposal which was presented to the Cabinet of Ministers for consideration.