The European Union will launch a legal attack on Russian gas giant Gazprom this week, ramping up tensions with Moscow, when antitrust agents will accuse it of overcharging buyers in eastern Europe, EU sources told Reuters yesterday...
More than two years after Brussels started investigating Gazprom, the
move comes just a week after the new EU antitrust chief charged US tech
giant Google with abusing its market power after five years of
hesitation by her predecessor.
Vestager has appeared determined to challenge big corporate powers
since taking on the powerful post in November, regardless of past offers
of compromise from both Google and Gazprom.
Despite the Danish commissioner's insistence that she would look at
only the legal merits of a case that focuses on Gazprom pricing policies
differentiating between customers, the accusations will do nothing to
ease EU frictions with Moscow over Ukraine in which gas supplies have
played a major role.
The sources said Vestager was likely to send the charge sheet, known
as a statement of objections, to Gazprom once she returns from a trip to
the United States, where she arrived within hours of charging Google.
Such a document sets out concerns about possible anti-competitive
practices.
Gazprom and the European Commission declined to comment officially.
A source close to the Russian company said Gazprom had always wanted
to find an amicable solution, so a statement of objections now "would
not be a welcome move".
Gazprom tried to settle the case last year by offering concessions to
Vestager's predecessor but talks floundered over its refusal to cut
prices for eastern European customers.
The EU antitrust chief is taking a tougher line than her predecessor
despite the political ramifications of some cases, said Mario
Mariniello, a former economist at the Commission and now an expert at
Brussels think tank Bruegel.
"Vestager is sending a message that her mandate is not about settling
cases. If she has a solid case, she will push ahead with charges," he
said.
"Sending a statement of objections to Gazprom now would be her way of
saying that she will focus on the substance of the case regardless of
the political implications."
The Russian behemoth, with annual sales of some $100 billion,
supplies about 30% of the 28-nation bloc's natural gas. It has been
under investigation since September 2012, including for hampering the
flow of gas across Europe.
In a speech in Washington on Thursday, Vestager did not name Gazprom
but stressed she was ready to get tough with energy companies that "harm
rivals, block energy flows from one EU country to another, or threaten
to close the tap".
Vestager has the power to order changes in companies' business
practices as well as to levy fines of, in theory at least, up to 10% of
their annual global turnover.
European Commission officials had said in February they were close to taking the next step in the investigation.