The European Commission has sent a statement of
objections to Russian gas giant Gazprom alleging that some of its business
practices in eight markets in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), including
Bulgaria, constitute an abuse of its dominant market position in breach of EU
antitrust rules.
"On the basis of its investigation, the Commission's
preliminary view is that Gazprom is breaking EU antitrust rules by pursuing an
overall strategy to partition CEE gas markets, for example by reducing its
customers’ ability to resell the gas cross-border," the Commission said in a
press release, adding that this may have enabled Gazprom to charge unfair prices
in certain EU member states.
Gazprom may also have abused its dominant
market position on the markets of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia by making the supply of gas
dependent on obtaining unrelated commitments from wholesalers concerning gas
transport infrastructure, the Commission also said.
Gazprom now has 12
weeks to reply to the statement of objections and can also request an oral
hearing to present its arguments.
"We find that it [Gazprom] may have
built artificial barriers preventing gas from flowing from certain Central
Eastern European countries to others, hindering cross-border competition.
Keeping national gas markets separate also allowed Gazprom to charge prices that
we at this stage consider to be unfair," the press release quoted EU
Commissioner in charge of competition policy Margrethe Vestager as saying. "If
our concerns were confirmed, Gazprom would have to face the legal consequences
of its behaviour," she added.
The Commission opened formal proceedings
against Gazprom on 31 August 2012.
Gazprom is the dominant natural gas
supplier allCEE countries, with market shares well above 50% in most, and in
some countries up to 100%.
A statement of objections is a formal step in
Commission investigations into suspected violations of EU antitrust rules. The
Commission informs the parties concerned in writing of the objections raised
against them and the parties can reply in writing of the objections raised
against them. The addressees can examine the documents in the Commission's
investigation file, reply in writing and request an oral hearing to present
their comments before representatives of the Commission and national competition
authorities. The Commission takes a final decision only after the parties have
exercised their rights of defence.
There is no legal deadline for the
Commission to complete antitrust inquiries into anticompetitive conduct. The
duration of an antitrust investigation depends on a number of factors, including
the complexity of the case, the extent to which the undertaking concerned
cooperates with the Commission and the exercise of the rights of
defence.