The European Commission didn't play a role in the process that saw Russian giant OAO Gazprom withdraw its bid for Greece's natural-gas monopoly Depa, a European Union spokesman said Tuesday.
The European Commission didn't play a role in the process that saw Russian giant OAO Gazprom withdraw its bid for
Greece
's natural-gas monopoly Depa, a European Union spokesman said Tuesday.
Greece
failed to receive a single bid for Depa before the deadline expired Monday. Greek
officials blamed the EU for derailing the deal over concerns about
Moscow
's
already tight grip on the European market.
"Regarding the sale of Depa, the Commission had no influence in the
process and did not have any contact with Gazprom on this issue," the
spokesman said.
"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," he 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 nonpayment 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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