EAEU energy markets already functioning, not necessary to set deadline to transit to common markets - Deputy PM Overchuk

YEREVAN. Oct 1 (Interfax) - There is no need to update the launch dates of the common energy markets of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), namely gas, oil and petroleum products, and electricity, which have been expected to start in 2025, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) council head Alexei Overchuk said.

Overchuk said that the agreements of the union countries are of greater importance, and the markets themselves are already functioning.

"We believe that the gas market has already been formed on the basis of bilateral agreements, and there are nuances for oil and petroleum products. However, it is not a matter of timing, which we have said before. There has been talk about postponing [the launch of the common energy markets]. However, we believe that there is no need to postpone it if the markets are already functioning," Overchuk told Interfax in Yerevan on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Forum in response to possibly postponing the launch of the common markets for gas, oil and petroleum products, and electricity in the EAEU.

The treaty on the EAEU envisages establishing common energy markets in the union as of 2025. In May 2024, the EAEU countries adjusted the launch dates for the common electricity market, postponing them to January 1, 2027. Similar dates are under discussion for the gas and oil markets, as well as petroleum products, Kazakhstan's Inbusiness.kz publication reported in June, citing EEC energy department director Vadim Zakrevsky.