(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The European Commission Wednesday sent a Statement of Objection to Russian gas giant Gazprom alleging that some of its business practices in Central and Eastern European gas markets constitute an abuse of its dominant market position.
EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager told a press conference here today that "Gazprom has used its dominance in the supply of gas to obtain unrelated commitments from customers concerning the gas infrastructure." In particular evidence of this conduct, she noted, is found in Poland concerning the Yamal pipeline and in Bulgaria concerning the Southstream.
On the basis of the Commission's investigation, she said, Gazprom is breaking EU antitrust rules by pursuing an overall strategy to partition Central and Eastern European gas markets, for example by reducing its customers' ability to resell the gas cross-border.
This may have enabled Gazprom to charge unfair prices in certain Member States.
"All companies that operate in the European market - no matter if they are European or not - have to play by our EU rules," stressed Vestager.
She said that in five European countries in question sometimes you have systematically much higher prices than in other countries up to 40 pct higher.
"We do not say that oil indexation as such is illegal. We say that the way you use oil indexation is a problem. The way the contracts were made that we find that there is unfair pricing," she added.
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