Today the Energy Community Secretariat submitted four Reasoned Opinions as the next step in the dispute settlement cases against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine. In one case, namely for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the only remaining issue is the missing sampling and analysis of the fuels as required by Energy Community law. For Ukraine, non-compliance involves the lack of a binding national law to ensure that the sulphur content of liquid fuels does not exceed the limits set by Directive 1999/32/EC. In Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, non-compliance is triggered by a combination of both issues.
Directive 1999/32/EC requires that heavy fuel oil (mazout) is only allowed to be put on the market with a maximum sulphur content of 1% in the Contracting Parties. In the case of gas oil (heating oil), a 0.1% threshold applies. The Directive also establishes that the sampling and analysis of these fuels take place according to ISO standards.
According to the Rules of Procedure for Dispute Settlement, parties with a legitimate interest in the case are granted access to the case file. All requests for information on this case should be addressed to Dr Dirk Buschle, Legal Counsel and Deputy Director, +43 (0) 664 849 8047, and should refer to the case number ECS-2/13 (Bosnia and Herzegovina), ECS-3/13 (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), ECS-4/13 (Serbia) or ECS-5/13 (Ukraine).