Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 14,321
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EU Sues Russian Gas Giant Company Gazprom
Quote:
The European Union launched a legal attack on Gazprom on Wednesday, stoking tension with Moscow as it accused the Russian gas giant of overcharging buyers in Eastern Europe and hindering competition.
The EU's new antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager, who a week ago announced a similar market abuse prosecution against U.S. tech giant Google, said state-controlled Gazprom was using its continued dominance in Moscow's old Soviet client states to hike prices by as much as 40 percent over the norm.
It could do so, she said, by insisting on contracts that bar customers selling on gas to others, notably across borders, which she described as a hindrance of free markets that broke EU law. It has also been an obstacle to EU efforts to supply Ukraine.
Russia's biggest company, which saw an offer of a negotiated settlement rejected by Vestager's predecessor, dismissed all the accusations as "unfounded" and said it expected a resolution at a political level - though Vestager insisted the case was "not political", and in any case relations between President Vladimir Putin and the West are in deep freeze over the Ukraine conflict.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov branded the move an "absolutely unacceptable" bid to apply EU rules retroactively to contracts signed long ago by Gazprom, which supplies about 30 percent of the gas used in the 28-nation bloc.
Putin's spokesman said he hoped for compromise: "We are looking forward to an absolutely impartial attitude towards the Gazprom company," he told reporters. "Of course, Gazprom will defend its interests and the state, as a major shareholder in the company, will also defend the interests of Gazprom."
FINE OR SETTLEMENT
Gazprom has 12 weeks to respond to the charges and Vestager stressed that a negotiated settlement, under which it would amend its practices, was still possible. Without a deal, she has the power to fine companies up to 10 percent of their annual sales - a potential penalty in Gazprom's case of $10 billion.
Gazprom business affects the all the countries bordering Russia + Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic.
Arguments from EU (displayed in a chart):
Arguments from Russia:
We've done nothing wrong plus these deals with countries were made before they joined EU
Russia's not even in the EU, so bye 
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0ND10M20150422
In related news, Bulgaria was going to work with Russia to get a line going, but work was stopped and today they and Romania signed a deal to be a part of the new EU-planned pipeline that will bring in gas from Azerbaijan to reduce dependence on Russia.
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