Greece should resume its attempts to sell natural-gas monopoly Depa as soon as possible, the European Commission said Tuesday.
Greece
should resume its attempts to sell natural-gas monopoly Depa as soon as
possible, the European Commission said Tuesday.
"Privatization of DEPA should resume as soon as possible," Simon
O'Connor, a spokesman for European Union economic and monetary affairs
Commissioner Olli Rehn said Tuesday. "Design and the execution of the
privatization program is the responsibility of Greek authorities... it's an
integral part of the economic adjustment program."
Russian giant OAO Gazprom withdrew its bid for Depa Monday, meaning that
Greece
failed to receive a single bid for the gas company before the Monday deadline
expired. Gazprom was widely seen as the front-runner for Depa, and was said to
have made a preliminary bid this year of about 900 million euros ($1.2
billion).
Mr. O'Connor added that any impact on the country's financial reforms would be
covered in the third review of the second assistance program for
Greece
,
which is currently being undertaken by the Commission and the European Central
Bank.
"The state of play of the privatization program will be discussed in that
context over coming days," he told reporters. "Any implications for
the fiscal situation, debt sustainability will have to be discussed in the
context of the mission."
Greek officials Monday blamed the EU for derailing the deal over concerns about
the company's already tight grip on the European market. But earlier Tuesday
the Commission said it had "no influence in the process and did not have
any contact with Gazprom on this issue."
"The privatization process in
Greece
is
the responsibility of the Greek authorities and is managed by the Hellenic
Republic Asset Development Fund. The procedures and decisions on the
privatization process are taken by the Board of HRADF in compliance with
existing Greek and EU legislation," a spokesman said.
Gazprom supplies about one quarter of the EU's natural gas via a network of
pipelines, although exports to
Europe
have
slipped in recent years amid weaker demand and tougher competition. But in the
past several years, the EU has sought to reduce its reliance on
Russia
for
gas after supplies were disrupted in 2006 and 2009 when
Moscow
clashed with
Ukraine
, the
main transit route, over alleged non-payment and price.
Russia
has
bristled at EU attempts to liberalize the bloc's energy market, saying the rules
harm Gazprom and consumers.
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