The European Union is still drafting a formal antitrust complaint against Gazprom OAO (GAZP.RS), despite settlement talks with the Russian energy company, the EU's antitrust chief Joaquin Almunia said Wednesday.
The European Union is still drafting a formal antitrust complaint
against Gazprom OAO (GAZP.RS), despite settlement talks with the Russian energy
company, the EU's antitrust chief Joaquin Almunia said Wednesday.
"We are working on a statement of objections," Mr. Almunia told
reporters in
Brussels
,
referring to a formal complaint by the European Commission. Such a move would
trigger the start of a legal process that could lead to hefty fines for the
state-owned energy company.
Gazprom submitted draft proposals to EU regulators about its pricing and other
practices last month, after Mr. Almunia signaled that he was running out of
patience. Those proposals followed a meeting between the EU's competition
commissioner and Gazprom chief Alexander Medvedev on Dec. 4. Mr. Almunia had
initially sounded optimistic about the hopes of resolving the case, describing
talks as "constructive."
But in a change of tone Wednesday he said: "But so far the option, Plan A,
is to continue working on a [formal complaint]."
The EU launched a high-profile probe into Gazprom in September last year, after
raids on the company's offices in September 2011. Days after the EU announced
its investigation, the Kremlin fired back with a decree preventing the company
from disclosing information to foreign regulators without government
permission.
Under EU antitrust rules, a company can offer concessions aimed at addressing
the EU's concerns, which
Brussels
can
then decide to make legally binding on the company. Those so-called
"commitments" don't imply wrongdoing by the company and are a way of
settling a case without imposing fines.
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