European Union member Lithuania said Tuesday it has asked Brussels to probe Russian gas giant OAO Gazprom for abusing its market clout, saying such muscle-flexing must end.
European Union member
Lithuania
said
Tuesday it has asked
Brussels
to
probe Russian gas giant OAO Gazprom for abusing its market clout, saying such
muscle-flexing must end.
"The Ministry of Energy of the
Republic
of
Lithuania
launched a complaint with the European Commission, requesting it investigate
the abuse of dominant position by the Russian gas supplier Gazprom," a
government statement said.
It said the goal was to "ensure that terms and conditions for supply of
natural gas to
Lithuania
were
determined solely by economic considerations."
To do so, it said, the commission should order Gazprom to apply "transparent,
reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions."
The Brussels-based commission is the executive body of the 27-nation EU, and
polices its trade and competition rules.
"Huge fines, in the millions, were imposed on companies like Intel or
Microsoft for using a monopolistic situation for their benefit and for
breaching consumer interests,"
Lithuania
's
Energy Minister Arvydas Sekmokas told reporters Tuesday.
"Gazprom is no exception. But it's the commission's prerogative to decide
what measures have to be used. Our goal isn't to punish Gazprom, our goal is to
ensure the security of supply, and energy independence," he said.
Lithuania
and
Gazprom are battling over
Vilnius
's
drive to respect EU energy market reform rules by "unbundling" the
country's gas system, separating bulk supply from that piped to consumers.
Currently, Gazprom is
Lithuania
's
sole supplier and also has a 37.1% share in its gas distributor Lietuvos Dujos
AB (LDJ1L.LV).
Gazprom and another major Lietuvos Dujos stakeholder--
Germany
's
E.ON Ruhrgas International from--have pressed
Lithuania
to
ask
Brussels
for
an exemption from gas market reform rules, but
Vilnius
has
refused.
Sekmokas said the government would table a reform law at parliament's spring
session, which starts in March.
Gazprom has reportedly said it would deny
Lithuania
gas
discounts offered to neighboring nations.
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