On 5 March 2019, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine for the European Integration Olena Zerkal took part at the roundtable “Future of Ukraine’s gas transit route and European energy security” at the European Policy Centre in Brussels.

Among the speakers of the expert discussion, there were Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden Carl Bildt, leadership of the NJSC “Naftogaz of Ukraine”, representatives of the EU institutions, U.S. Department of State and key energy experts. The participants noted that the rule of law and implementation of international commitments should be the fundamental principle of the EU relations with its partners. In this regard, Ukraine's foreign partners have a consolidated position on the need for unconditional compliance with the decisions of the Stockholm arbitration of 2017 and 2018.

The participants recognized the unprecedented pace and ambitions of Ukraine's reforms in the energy sector and underlined the ongoing violations of the international law by the Russian Federation as well as the consequences of the Russian aggression for European energy security.

Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Olena Zerkal stressed that European energy security will depend on the EU readiness to ensure the rule of law and compliance with its own legislation. The key to the success of Ukraine-EU-Russia trilateral gas consultations is understanding of the Russian leadership and “Gazprom” that application of the EU energy legislation is unconditional and inevitable.