REUTERS
The European Commission has accused Russian energy giant Gazprom of deliberately pursuing a strategy to partition gas markets of Central and Eastern Europe, enabling the company to charge unfair prices, Russian information agency RBC reported.
Russian Gazprom is said to have sent a response to the claims brought by the European Commission within the framework of the antitrust investigation.
The company's position is substantiated in the document and explanations are provided as to why Gazprom considers the EU's claims to be based on the incorrect methodology.
Gazprom has provided data to evidence the economic and legal inconsistency of claims of the European Commission regarding the allegedly inflated prices under Gazprom's contracts, the statement notes.
The company noted that, taking into consideration the arguments set forth in the EC letter, it is necessary to find a mutually acceptable solution.
Read alsoGazprom not to apply "take or pay" rule to Ukraine until March 2016On September 22, the Russian company sent proposals to the European Commission to settle the dispute. Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee at Gazprom Alexander Medvedev said that those proposals would be discussed with European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager.
The investigation into violations of the anti-monopoly legislation of the European Union by the Russian company has been carried out since 2013. On April 22, 2015 the EC sent a Statement of Objections to Gazprom alleging that some of its business practices in Central and Eastern European gas markets constituted an abuse of its dominant market position in breach of EU antitrust rules.
The EC claims that Gazprom is breaking EU antitrust rules by pursuing an overall strategy to partition Central and Eastern European gas markets, which enables the Russian company to charge unfair prices in certain member states.