KIEV, Nov. 2 – The decision of the European Commission to change the rule for using OPAL pipeline is intended to increase transparency of access to it, while Russia's Gazprom earlier could use up to 100% of its capacity under certain conditions, the EU Delegation to Ukraine said.

"The European Commission has in its decision set out additional conditions which are significantly tighter than originally notified by the German regulator. These conditions provide significantly improved access to third parties, both in quantity and quality, and add strict oversight to ensure effective third-party access. Gazprom will need to enable this third party access by providing flow commitments. 50% of the OPAL capacities will be regulated. This means that these capacities will need to be allocated in a transparent and non-discriminatory process, applying the full set of provisions under EU law. This will greatly increase transparency on the use of the OPAL pipeline and provide benefits for efficient market operation and, e.g. via reverse flows to Ukraine and security of supply," the EU Delegation to Ukraine said in comments to Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.