European Commission is Gazprom to about competition – The Standard

Gazprom abused its dominant position in the market and violate European antitrust rules. This is contained in a statement by the European Commission sent to the Russian gas supplier. Gazprom and the Russian government have already reacted furiously.

Since August 2012 is the European Commission investigate the commercial behavior of Gazprom in some Central and Eastern European countries, where the gas market shares in excess of 50 and in some cases even 100 percent. The conclusion now is that Gazprom in eight Member States hinders fair competition.

Especially the way Gazprom impedes the free flow of gas, according to the Commission can not be tolerated. Territorial restrictions in the contracts with Gazprom shut wholesalers and industrial customers prevent that may resell the gas to other countries. That is consistent with whatever non-European Energy Union pursuing open markets.

By those clauses would Gazprom ‘unfair’ prices charged in Poland, Bulgaria and the three Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. As a result, the Russian gas, there is, in some cases up to 40 percent more expensive than in other countries. The Commission also objected to the linkage of gas prices to oil prices applied by the company.

The European competition watchdog accuses Gazprom further Bulgaria obliged to have to take the national gas distributor part to its gas pipeline project South Stream in exchange for gas supplies.

Vestager: “Even non-European companies must abide by our rules’

” All the companies on the European

market must comply with the European rules, whether they are European or not “, stated Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager.

The Commission will send the statement of objections to Gazprom, after receiving twelve weeks to reply and then orally can be heard. If not please the Gazprom Commission’s arguments, it may require a fine of up to 10 percent of annual sales

Lavrov:. “Absolutely unacceptable”

In addition to the economic aspect is the Gazprom-file also highly charged geopolitics. The company is controlled by the Russian government and has been repeatedly used by Putin in foreign policy, such as the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Gazprom responded meanwhile the “baseless” accusations and says “fully compliant the current standards’ to work in the sector. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov again believes that the contracts were consistent with the rules applicable at that Europeans want to push through new rules in such contracts. “That is absolutely unacceptable.”

Vestager denies that geopolitics plays a role and speaks of “a competition record. She recalled that the Commission previously the French GDF and Italian companies Enel and ENI already on the fingers tapped on territorial restrictions in gas contracts.