EU competition commissioner says Kremlin-controlled energy multinational charged eight countries up to 40% more for their gas than elsewhere in union
Europe’s anti-trust regulator has accused Russia’s massive gas monopoly, Gazprom, of unfair pricing practices in Moscow’s former satellite states of eastern Europe, launching a legal dispute that could result in multibillion-euro fines for the Kremlin’s giant energy company.
The “statement of objections ” issued by the European commissioner for competition, Margrethe Vestager of Denmark, on Wednesday accuses the world’s biggest gas producer of charging eight EU member states in eastern Europe up to 40% more for their gas than elsewhere in the EU. The company manipulated contracts and included clauses barring clients from exporting gas more cheaply in the EU, according to the commission.